Which 4 Nations snub will make his Olympic team in 2026?

Last week, the 12 hockey nations competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics shortened their men’s teams to 42 skaters and five goaltenders apiece. In a little more than two months, they’ll finalize their rosters at 22 skaters and three goalies each.

Among the nations who competed in the 4 Nations Face-Off last season – Canada, Finland, Sweden and USA – name someone who didn’t make last year’s team who will make his Olympic squad. Players who missed the 4 Nations due to injury don’t count.

MATT LARKIN: Clayton Keller of the Utah Mammoth will play his way onto Team USA. Including this season, he has 42 points in his past 34 games since the 4 Nations break. He also made the wise political move to play for USA’s gold-medal squad at the 2025 World Championship – as team captain. He’s a puck wizard in his prime and could give the Americans some different looks with his deceptiveness. If he doesn’t make the team this time, he may never do it.

STEVEN ELLIS: USA Hockey has often shown loyalty to the guys who show up for them internationally. And while his season hasn’t been explosive by any means this year, I think it’ll be hard to keep Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson off the roster. He was the golden hero at the World Championship last year, an event he absolutely shined in. That helped USA win gold for the first time in nearly a century – something that means a lot to that program. Plus, we know how dominant he can be with and without the puck. I think he’d be best suited for a bottom-line role, but he’d be damn good at it.

ANTHONY TRUDEAU: The Tkachuks’ ability to swing momentum with big hits and get on the scoresheet made them Mike Sullivan’s not-so-secret weapon at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The brothers’ relentless physicality set the table for Team USA’s preferred play style as Sullivan readily scratched and/or demoted any forward he found unwilling to be hard on pucks. That same physicality exacts a heavy price; Brady is on the IR with his second hand injury in six months, and Matt is recovering from offseason surgery to correct injuries he suffered at the 4 Nations. ‘Sully’ needs an insurance policy for their heavy game in the event they go down at the Olympics, and Matthew Knies is the closest thing to a faux Tkachuk this side of Canadian Tom Wilson. The 230-pounder is a punisher on the forecheck (182 hits in 2024-25) and continues to grow as an offensive threat (29 goals last season) for the Leafs. 

PAUL PIDUTTI: It’s still early of course, but Nick Suzuki seems like a man on a mission for the Montreal Canadiens. He’s publicly stated his strong desire to be on Team Canada in Italy and has backed it up with an impressive start. His inclusion from a fit perspective makes sense as he’s used to difficult minutes and could readily move up or down the lineup. He doesn’t carry the status where he needs to dress nightly on a team this deep either, which could make him a valuable swingman option that would be ready to go in case of injury or poor play among the forwards. The downside? Taking a center that doesn’t regularly penalty kill on a team loaded with superstars isn’t optimal. But Suzuki continues to evolve as a player and leader, and I’m optimistic that he finds his way into meaningful games for Canada in February.

SCOTT MAXWELL: This is a bit of recency bias considering his five-point night on Thursday, but it might just be Macklin Celebrini for me. His transition to the NHL as a rookie was seamless, and he’s since stepped up his game so far this year and has looked like one of Canada’s best options up front. There are still some concerns with his defensive game, but his skill and IQ are already at elite levels. Hockey Canada always has a habit of turning away young skill for that grit and toughness that ultimately doesn’t move the needle as much as they think it will, but Celebrini already has an in with Hockey Canada with how he played at the 2025 World Championship, plus it gave him some familiarity with Sidney Crosby. Maybe Celebrini still gets the treatment that Crosby did in 2006 and is turned down on the grounds of being too young. But let’s not forget, that tournament was also the last time Canada lost at best-on-best. Hopefully Canada will learn from their mistakes this time around.

MIKE GOULD: I’ve been a skeptic of his at times, but I do think we’ll see Connor Bedard sneak his way onto Team Canada after a strong start to the season. He’s not the generational player many expected him to be, but Bedard is still a fantastic offensive player with a shot that defies conventional wisdom of what a release should look like. Even if they only brought him to run a power-play unit, Team Canada could do a lot worse than to select Bedard as a secondary or tertiary option at forward. It’d also be a good way to whet his palate ahead of future international tournaments, where he should be more of a primary source of offense for the Canadians.

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