The 2026 Winter Olympics have finally arrived, and it is a huge one for NHL fans. This is the first time that players from the NHL will be allowed to compete in the Winter Olympics since 2014. Its return is much more exciting, considering the influx of young stars who can now compete, such as Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews.
The NHL provided a preview last year with the 4 Nations Face-Off. But this time, in Milan, Italy, eight men’s hockey teams will be competing for the gold medal. So, which NHL players will represent each country in the 2026 Winter Olympics? Here's the full breakdown.
United States (25)
- Matt Boldy, F, Minnesota Wild
- Kyle Connor, F, Winnipeg Jets
- Jack Eichel, F, Vegas Golden Knights
- Jack Hughes, F, New Jersey Devils
- Jake Guentzel, F, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Clayton Keller, F, Utah Mammoth
- Dylan Larkin, F, Detroit Red Wings
- Auston Matthews, F, Toronto Maple Leafs
- J.T. Miller, F, New York Rangers
- Brock Nelson, F, Colorado Avalanche
- Brady Tkachuk, F, Ottawa Senators
- Matthew Tkachuk, F, Florida Panthers
- Tage Thompson, F, Buffalo Sabres
- Vincent Trocheck, F, New York Rangers
- Brock Faber, D, Minnesota Wild
- Noah Hanifin, D, Vegas Golden Knights
- Quinn Hughes, D, Minnesota Wild
- Jackson LaCombe, D, Anaheim Ducks
- Charlie McAvoy, D, Boston Bruins
- Jake Sanderson, D, Ottawa Senators
- Jaccob Slavin, D, Carolina Hurricanes
- Zach Werenzki, D, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Connor Hellebuyck, G, Winnipeg Jets
- Jake Oettinger, G, Dallas Stars
- Jeremy Swayman, G, Boston Bruins
A bold strategy, the United States brought back the majority of the 4 Nations Face-Off team that fell short to Canada in the Finals. Players like Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs), Jack Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights) Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils) and Quinn Hughes (Minnesota Wild) stand out. Not to mention, they have superstar Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets) in net. However, the decision to leave off some young legitimate scorers like Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars and Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens could come back to haunt them.
Canada (25)
- Sam Bennett, F, Florida Panthers
- Macklin Celebrini, F, San Jose Sharks
- Sidney Crosby, F, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Brandon Hagel, F, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Bo Horvat, F, New York Islanders
- Seth Jarvis, F, Carolina Hurricanes
- Nathan MacKinnon, F, Colorado Avalanche
- Brad Marchand, F, Florida Panthers
- Mitch Marner, F, Vegas Golden Knights
- Connor McDavid, F, Edmonton Oilers
- Sam Reinhart, F, Florida Panthers
- Mark Stone, F, Vegas Golden Knights
- Nick Suzuki, F, Montreal Canadiens
- Tom Wilson, F, Washington Capitals
- Drew Doughty, D, Los Angeles Kings
- Thomas Harley, D, Dallas Stars
- Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche
- John Morrissey, D, Winnipeg Jets
- Colton Parayko, D, St. Louis Blues
- Travis Sanheim, D, Philadelphia Flyers
- Shea Theodore, D, Vegas Golden Knights
- Devon Toews, D, Colorado Avalanche
- Jordan Binnington, G, St. Louis Blues
- Darcy Kuemper, G, Los Angeles Kings
- Logan Thompson, G, Washington Capitals
Canada is always going to have the most stacked roster, considering the majority of the NHL’s top players are from Canada. The team is led by Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) and Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche). The thing is, unlike the United States, Canada did change up their roster from the 4 Nations Face-Off, adding newcomers Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks), Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens) and Tom Wilson (Washington Capitals). Canada should be considered the favorite to win gold.
Sweden (25)
- Jesper Bratt, F, New Jersey Devils
- Joel Eriksson Ek, F, Minnesota Wild
- Filip Forsberg, F, Nashville Predators
- Pontus Homberg, F, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Marcus Johansson, F, Minnesota Wild
- Adrian Kempe, F, Los Angeles Kings
- Gabriel Landeskog, F, Colorado Avalanche
- Elias Lindholm, F, Boston Bruins
- William Nylander, F, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Elias Pettersson, F, Vancouver Canucks
- Rickard Rakell, F, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Lucas Raymond, F, Detroit Red Wings
- Alexander Wennberg, F, San Jose Sharks
- Mika Zibanejad, F, New York Rangers
- Rasumus Andersson, D, Vegas Golden Knights
- Philip Broberg, D, St. Louis Blues
- Rasmus Dahlin, D, Buffalo Sabres
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Gustav Forsling, D, Florida Panthers
- Victor Hedman, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Hampus Lindholm, D, Boston Bruins
- Erik Karlsson, D, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Filip Gustavsson, D, Minnesota Wild
- Jacob Markstrom, G, New Jersey Devils
- Jesper Wallstedt, G, Minnesota Wild
Sweden, much like the United States and Canada, has full a roster of NHL players. Sweden has star power with the likes of Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning), Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers) and William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs). But their strength may be at goaltending, especially with the Minnesota Wild duo of Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt.
Finland (24)
- Joel Armia, F, Los Angeles Kings
- Sebastian Aho, F, Carolina Hurricanes
- Mikael Granlund, F, Anaheim Ducks
- Erik Haula, F, Nashville Predators
- Roope Hintz, F, Dallas Stars
- Kaapo Kakko, F, Seattle Kraken
- Oliver Kapanen, F, Montreal Canadiens
- Joel Kiviranta, F, Colorado Avalanche
- Artturi Lehkonen, F, Colorado Avalanche
- Anton Lundell, F, Florida Panthers
- Eetu Luostarinen, F, Florida Panthers
- Mikko Rantanen, F, Dallas Stars
- Teuvo Teravainen, F, Chicago Blackhawks
- Eeli Tolvanen, F, Seattle Kraken
- Miro Heiskanen, D, Dallas Stars
- Henri Jokiharju, D, Boston Bruins
- Esa Lindell, D, Dallas Stars
- Olli Maatta, D,Utah Mammoth
- Nikolas Matinpalo, D, Ottawa Senators
- Niko Mikkola, D, Florida Panthers
- Rasmus Ristolainen, D, Philadelphia Flyers
- Joonas Korpisalo, Boston Bruins*
- Kevin Lankinen, Vancouver Canucks
- Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators
Finland falls one player short of having a full NHL roster. The only non-NHL player on the roster is Mikko Lehtonen of the ZSC Lions of Sweden’s National League. Lehtonen used to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets. Speaking of Lehtonen, he will be a flag bearer for Finland in the Opening Ceremony. It’s still a loaded roster for Finland with Mikko Rantanen (Dallas Stars) and Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes) standing out.
Switzerland (10)
- Kevin Fiala, F, Los Angeles Kings
- Nico Hischier, F, New Jersey Devils
- Philipp Kurashev, F, San Jose Sharks
- Timo Meier, F, New Jersey Devils
- Nino Niederreiter, F, Winnipeg Jets
- Pius Suter, F, St. Louis Blues
- Roman Josi, D, Nashville Predators
- J.J. Moser, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Jonas Siegenthaler, D, New Jersey Devils
- Akira Schmid, G, Vegas Golden Knights
Switzerland is sending 10 players from the NHL to the Olympics, and it will mostly be forwards from the NHL, with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier of the New Jersey Devils and Kevin Fiala of the Los Angeles Kings being the most notable. Not to mention Roman Josi (Nashville Predators), who was long known as one of the top defenders in the NHL
Czechia (12)
- Radek Faksa, F, Dallas Stars
- Tomas Hertl, F, Vegas Golden Knights
- David Kampf, F, Vancouver Canucks
- Martin Necas, F, Colorado Avalanche
- Ondrej Palat, F, New York Islanders
- David Pastrnak, F, Boston Bruins
- Pavel Zacha, F, Boston Bruins
- Radko Gudas, D, Anaheim Ducks
- Filip Hronek, D, Vancouver Canucks
- Lukas Dostal, G, Anaheim Ducks
- Karel Vejmelka, G, Utah Mammoth
- Dan Vladar, G, Philadelphia Flyers
Czechia will have the fifth-most NHL talent in the Olympics this year. David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins) is the obvious star of the team, as he currently has 71 points (22 goals, 49 assists) through 52 games this season. Pastrnak will also be a flag bearer for Czechia in the Opening Ceremony. They still have some legit talent alongside him, such as Martin Necas (Colorado Avalanche), Pavel Zacha (Bruins) and Tomas Hertl (Golden Knights). Czechia’s goaltending is solid, with Dan Vladar (Philadelphia Flyers), Karel Vejmelka (Utah Mammoth) and Lukas Dostal (Anaheim Ducks) all having good seasons for their respective teams.
Slovakia (7)
- Dalibor Dvorsky, F, St. Louis Blues
- Martin Pospisil, F, Calgary Flames
- Pavol Regenda, F, San Jose Sharks
- Juraj Slafkovsky, F, Montreal Canadiens
- Erik Cernak, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Martin Fehervary, D, Washington Capitals
- Simon Nemec, D, New Jersey Devils
Slovakia has seven NHL players making the trip to Milan. One standout is forward Juraj Slafkovsky, who is one of the many young forwards shining on the Montreal Canadiens, as evidenced by his 45 points through 57 games.Â
Germany (6)
- Leon Draisaitl, F, Edmonton Oilers
- JJ Peterka, F, Utah Mammoth
- Tim Stützle, F, Ottawa Senators
- Nico Sturm, F, Minnesota Wild
- Moritz Seider, D, Detroit Red Wings
- Philipp Grubauer, G, Seattle Kraken
Germany may not have the most NHL talent quantity wise, but they do have quality. Leon Draisaitl (Oilers), set to be the flag bearer for Germany, is one of the top stars in the game, and that's while playing on the same NHL team as Connor McDavid. His forward group features J.J. Peterka (Mammoth) and Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators). Oh, and Germany has one of the top NHL defenders in Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings). It may not be a lot of talent numbers wise, but Germany has some legitimate star power.
Latvia (5)
- Teddy Blueger, F, Vancouver Canucks
- Zemgus Girgensons, F, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Uvis Balinskis, D, Florida Panthers
- Elvis Merzlikins, G, Columbus Blue Jackets
- Arturs Silovs, G, Pittsburgh Penguins
Latvia has five NHL players going to Italy. Their strength in terms of NHL talent is at goaltender. Elvis Merzlikins has a 3.49 goals allowed average in 21 games with the Blue Jackets, while Arturs Silovs owns a 2.97 goals allowed average through 25 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Denmark (4)
- Oliver Bjorkstrand, F, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Nikolaj Ehlers, F, Carolina Hurricanes
- Lars Eller, F, Ottawa Senators
- Frederik Andersen, G, Carolina Hurricanes
Denmark has one of the top scorers on the Carolina Hurricanes in Nikolaj Ehlers, who was signed after a strong stint with the Winnipeg Jets. Ehlers has 42 points through 56 games with Carolina, the fourth-most on the team. Also joining Ehlers from Carolina is Frederik Andersen, who was relegated to backup duty because of the emergence of Brandon Bussi.
France (1)
- Alexandre Texier, F, Montreal Canadiens
France has just one NHL player on their roster, and that’s Alexandre Texier of the Montreal Canadiens. Texier, a scoring forward, was acquired from the St. Louis Blues. In 30 games this year, he has seven goals and 10 assists to his credit. France also features 40-year-old Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning and Seattle Kraken until 2024, but he currently plays in Switzerland.
Italy (0)
Italy is the only team without NHL representation, and they will look to win in front of their home crowd. We’ll see if Italy can pull off an upset in the group stage against the likes of Sweden, Finland, and Slovakia.