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.
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 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, 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 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 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 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 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.
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 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 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 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 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.
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