As the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy approach, set to begin next February, the twelve men`s national hockey teams are beginning to unveil the first six players selected for their squads. The full rosters will be revealed at a later time, nearer to the start of the Games.
Many teams have already announced these initial players, with the expected star power evident on the American and Canadian rosters. For Canada, players like Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby are included, while the USA`s contingent features stars such as Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk.
Notably, the 2026 Winter Olympics will be the first time in 12 years that active NHL players will participate, having last competed in 2014. Russia will not be part of the 2026 tournament due to the ongoing ban on its athletes.
In the previous 2022 Winter Olympics, Finland secured the gold medal by defeating Russia, and Slovakia claimed the bronze against Sweden. Both Canada and the United States were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
However, Canada recently showed strong form in best-on-best competition, winning the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament last February with a 3-2 overtime victory over the United States, sealed by a goal from Connor McDavid.
Although the full preliminary rosters are not yet finalized, here`s an initial look at the key players announced so far for the twelve participating nations at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Canada
- Connor McDavid (F, Edmonton Oilers)
- Sidney Crosby (F, Pittsburgh Penguins)
- Nathan MacKinnon (F, Colorado Avalanche)
- Sam Reinhart (F, Florida Panthers)
- Brayden Point (F, Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Cale Makar (D, Colorado Avalanche)
Czechia
- David Pastrnak (F, Boston Bruins)
- Martin Necas (F, Colorado Avalanche)
- Pavel Zacha (F, Boston Bruins)
- Ondrej Palat (F, New Jersey Devils)
- Radko Gudas (D, Anaheim Ducks)
- Lukas Dostal (G, Anaheim Ducks)
Denmark
- Nikolaj Ehler (F, Winnipeg Jets)
- Oliver Bjorkstrand (F, Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Lars Eller (F, Washington Capitals)
- Jonas Rondbjerg (F, Vegas Golden Knights)
- Jesper Jensen Abo (D, EC KAC)
- Frederik Andersen (G, Carolina Hurricanes)
France
- Hasn`t been announced yet
Finland
- Sebastian Aho (F, Carolina Hurricanes)
- Mikko Rantanen (F, Dallas Stars)
- Aleksander Barkov (F, Florida Panthers)
- Miro Heiskanen (D, Dallas Stars)
- Esa Lindell (D, Dallas Stars)
- Juuse Saros (G, Nashville Predators)
Germany
- Leon Draisaitl (F, Edmonton Oilers)
- Tim Stutzle (F, Ottawa Senators)
- Lukas Reichel (F, Chicago Blackhawks)
- Nico Sturm (F, Florida Panthers)
- Moritz Seider (D, Detroit Red Wings)
- Philipp Grubauer (G, Seattle Kraken)
Italy
- Diego Kostner (F, HC Ambrì-Piotta)
- Daniel Mantenuto (F, HC Bolzano)
- Tommy Purdeller (F, HC Pustertal)
- Luca Zanatta (D, HC Pustertal)
- Thomas Larkin (D, Schwenninger Wild Wings)
- Damian Clara (D, San Diego Gulls)
Latvia
- Rodrigo Abols (F, Philadelphia Flyers)
- Zemgus Girgensons (F, Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Teddy Blueger (F, Vancouver Canucks)
- Uvis Balinskis (D, Florida Panthers)
- Elvis Merzlikins (G, Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Arturs Silovs (G, Vancouver Canucks)
Slovakia
- Martin Pospisil (F, Calgary Flames)
- Tomas Tatar (F, EV Zug)
- Juraj Slafkovsky (F, Montreal Canadiens)
- Simon Nemec (D, New Jersey Devils)
- Erik Cernak (D, Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Martin Fehervary (D, Washington Capitals)
Sweden
- Gabriel Landeskog (F, Colorado Avalanche)
- Lucas Raymond (F, Detroit Red Wings)
- William Nylander (F, Toronto Maple Leafs)
- Adrian Kempe (F, Los Angeles Kings)
- Rasmus Dahlin (D, Buffalo Sabres)
- Victor Hedman (D, Tampa Bay Lightning)
Switzerland
- Kevin Fiala (F, Los Angeles Kings)
- Nico Hischier (F, New Jersey Devils)
- Timo Meier (F, New Jersey Devils)
- Nino Niederreiter (F, Winnipeg Jets)
- Roman Josi (D, Nashville Predators)
- Jonas Siegenthaler (D, New Jersey Devils)
United States
- Jack Eichel (C, Vegas Golden Knights)
- Auston Matthews (C, Toronto Maple Leafs)
- Matthew Tkachuk (F, Florida Panthers)
- Brady Tkachuk (F, Ottawa Senators)
- Quinn Hughes (D, Vancouver Canucks)
- Charlie McAvoy (D, Boston Bruins)
Elton Marrow 
Torin Vale