The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games are in full swing, and while the women’s ice hockey competition is nearing a close, the men’s ice hockey competition is beginning to ramp up.
It is the first time in 12 years that NHL players are allowed to compete in the Olympics, and nearly 150 players from all 32 NHL teams are represented across 11 of the 12 international rosters in what is considered one of the highlight competitions of the Games.
The teams competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics include the United States, Canada, Finland, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Latvia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the host nation of Italy.
Every single team outside of Italy has at least one player who is a current member of an NHL roster playing on their international team, in what is the biggest field of NHL players competing in a single Olympic Games.
Though they have been historically dominant in the past, Russia is not competing in the 2026 Games, as it has sanctions against its Olympic Committee due to invading Ukraine in 2022.
Beginning with the two teams with the most NHL players, Team USA and Team Canada, each roster is fully compiled of players currently competing in the NHL.
Team USA:
Forwards: Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild, Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets, Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights, Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils, Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning, Clayton Keller, Utah Mammoth, Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings, Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs (C), J.T. Miller, New York Rangers, Brock Nelson, Colorado Avalanche, Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators, Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers (A), Tage Thompson, Buffalo Sabres, Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers
Defensemen: Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild, Noah Hanifin, Vegas Golden Knights, Quinn Hughes, Minnesota Wild, Jackson LaCombe, Anaheim Ducks*, Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins (A), Jake Sanderson, Ottawa Senators, Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes, Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets
Goalies: Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets, Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars, Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins
GettyPlayers of Team United States pose for photographs during training on day three of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 09, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
GettyPlayers of Team United States pose for photographs during training on day three of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 09, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
Team Canada:
Forwards: Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers*, Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks, Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins (C), Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning, Bo Horvat, New York Islanders, Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes, Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, Brad Marchand, Florida Panthers, Mitch Marner, Vegas Golden Knights, Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (A), Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers, Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights, Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens, Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals
Defensemen: – Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings, Thomas Harley, Dallas Stars, Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche (A), Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets, Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues, Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers, Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights, Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche
Goalies: Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues, Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings, Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals
Next are the two Northern European teams of Finland and Sweden, as each roster is featured by a majoirity of NHL players.
Team Finland:
Forwards: Joel Armia, Los Angeles Kings, Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes (A), Mikael Granlund, Anaheim Ducks (C), Erik Haula, Nashville Predators, Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars, Kaapo Kakko, Seattle Kraken, Oliver Kapanen, Montreal Canadiens, Joel Kiviranta, Colorado Avalanche, Artturi Lehkonen, Colorado Avalanche, Anton Lundell, Florida Panthers, Eetu Luostarinen, Florida Panthers, Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars (A), Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks, Eeli Tolvanen, Seattle Kraken
Defensemen: Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars, Henri Jokiharju, Boston Bruins, Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars, Olli Maatta, Utah Mammoth, Nikolas Matinpalo, Ottawa Senators, Niko Mikkola, Florida Panthers, Rasmus Ristolainen, Philadelphia Flyers
Goalies: Joonas Korpisalo, Boston Bruins*, Kevin Lankinen, Vancouver Canucks, Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators
Team Sweden:
Forwards: Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils, Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild, Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, Pontus Holmberg, Tampa Bay Lightning, Marcus Johansson, Minnesota Wild*, Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings, Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche (C), Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins, William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs, Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks, Rickard Rakell, Pittsburgh Penguins, Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings, Alexander Wennberg, San Jose Sharks, Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers
Defensemen: Rasmus Andersson, Vegas Golden Knights, Philip Broberg, St. Louis Blues, Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Toronto Maple Leafs, Gustav Forsling, Florida Panthers, Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning (A), Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins (A), Hampus Lindholm, Boston Bruins**
Goalies: Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild, Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils, Jesper Wallstedt, Minnesota Wild
Followed by the two Scandinavian powerhouses are the rest of the European teams of Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, France, Latvia, and Slovakia.
Team Switzerland:
Forwards: Kevin Fiala, Los Angeles Kings (A), Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils (A), Philipp Kurashev, San Jose Sharks, Timo Meier, New Jersey Devils, Nino Niederreiter, Winnipeg Jets (A), Pius Suter, St. Louis Blues
Defensemen: Roman Josi, Nashville Predators (C), J.J. Moser, Tampa Bay Lightning, Jonas Siegenthaler, New Jersey Devils
Goalies: Akira Schmid, Vegas Golden Knights
Team Czechia:
Forwards: Radek Faksa, Dallas Stars, Tomas Hertl, Vegas Golden Knights, David Kampf, Vancouver Canucks, Martin Necas, Colorado Avalanche, Ondrej Palat, New York Islanders, David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins (A)
Defensemen: Radko Gudas, Anaheim Ducks (A), Filip Hronek, Vancouver Canucks
Goalies: Lukas Dostal, Anaheim Ducks, Karel Vejmelka, Utah Mammoth, Dan Vladar, Philadelphia Flyers
Team Denmark:
Forwards: Oliver Bjorkstrand, Tampa Bay Lightning, Nikolaj Ehlers, Carolina Hurricanes, Lars Eller, Ottawa Senators, Oscar Fisker Molgaard, Seattle Kraken
Goalies: Frederik Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes, Mads Sogaard, Ottawa Senators
Team Latvia:
Forwards: Teddy Blueger, Vancouver Canucks, Zemgus Girgensons, Tampa Bay Lightning (A), Sandis Vilmanis, Florida Panthers
Defensemen: Uvis Balinskis, Florida Panthers (A)
Goalies: Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Arturs Silovs, Pittsburgh Penguins
Team Germany:
Forwards: Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (C), Josh Samanski, Edmonton Oilers, Tim Stützle, Ottawa Senators (A), Nico Sturm, Minnesota Wild
Defensemen: Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings (A)
Goalies: Philipp Grubauer, Seattle Kraken
Team Slovakia:
Forwards: Dalibor Dvorsky, St. Louis Blues, Martin Pospisil, Calgary Flames, Pavol Regenda, San Jose Sharks, Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal Canadiens
Defensemen: Erik Cernak, Tampa Bay Lightning (A), Martin Fehervary, Washington Capitals (A), Simon Nemec, New Jersey Devils
Team France:
Forwards: Alexandre Texier, Montreal Canadiens
And as mentioned, Italy is the only team in the competition that does not feature an NHL player on its roster. Several teams also have college players in the competition, but for the most part, the rosters are dominated by NHL players from all 32 teams.
Additionally, Russia is banned from the Olympics, but notable players that would have competed in the Games include: Alex Ovechkin, Artemi Panarin, and a number of other current NHL stars.
Of the NHL teams represented in the Olympics, the Florida Panthers have the most players with 10, followed by the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Tampa Bay Lighting, and Las Vegas Golden Knights each with eight, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, and Dallas Stars with seven, Ottawa Senators with six, and the Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, and Vancouver Canucks each with five.
The Calgary Flames and Chicago Blackhawks are the only two NHL teams that have just one player from their rosters competing in the 2026 Olympics.
As it relates to Team USA, the Wild have the most players on the Olympic team with three, while the Rangers, Panthers, Bruins, Jets, Senators, and Knights each have two of their players on the roster.
With these Olympics being the first in 12 years that will feature NHL players, the Games have brought a newfound level of excitement for international hockey.
“I have it right up there with playing in the Stanley Cup finals. It’s a different experience as far as it’s a short-term event, but it’s something that we all dream of being a part of,” Sidney Crosby said in a video on the Olympics’ YouTube channel. “I think I’m just grateful for the opportunity to be able to do it again and would love to be able to win again.”
The Four Nations Face-Off NHL competition was a good preview for what is expected to happen at the Olympics, as Team Canada is the favorite to win the event, with Team USA close behind, followed by the rest of the European teams.
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Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
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