12:00 p.m.: Updated to include the United States’ roster.
11:01 a.m.: Updated to include Canada’s roster.
10:32 a.m.: Updated to reflect France’s roster.
9:18 a.m.: Updated to reflect Denmark’s roster.
8:23 a.m.: Updated to reflect Slovakia’s roster.
7:49 a.m.: Throughout Monday, the IIHF is announcing teams’ preliminary rosters for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy. It’s the tournament’s first edition with NHL participation since 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Like the NHL did with the 4 Nations Face-Off, teams must lock in six players to their final roster well in advance. Of course, the field is now set after the IIHF confirmed a few weeks ago that Russia would not participate in the event, even under a Russian Olympic Committee banner as they did in 2018 and 2022, due to the country’s military aggression in Ukraine.
European teams’ preliminary six players were announced early in the morning, while those looking for North American teams must wait until later Monday. Here’s each team’s initial roster for the tournament, which will run from Feb. 5 to Feb. 22, 2026:
Group A
(1) Canada
F Sidney Crosby (Penguins)
F Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche)
F Connor McDavid (Oilers)
F Brayden Point (Lightning)
F Sam Reinhart (Panthers)
D Cale Makar (Avalanche)
(2) Czechia
F Martin Nečas (Avalanche)
F Ondřej Palát (Devils)
F David Pastrňák (Bruins)
F Pavel Zacha (Bruins)
D Radko Gudas (Ducks)
G Lukáš Dostál (Ducks)
(3) Switzerland
F Kevin Fiala (Kings)
F Nico Hischier (Devils)
F Timo Meier (Devils)
F Nino Niederreiter (Jets)
D Roman Josi (Predators)
D Jonas Siegenthaler (Devils)
(4) France
F Pierre-Édouard Bellemare (Ajoie/NL)
F Jordann Perret (Mountfield/Czechia)
F Alexandre Texier (Blues)
D Yohann Auvitu (Vítkovice/Czechia)
D Jules Boscq (HPK/Liiga)
D Hugo Gallet (Tappara/Liiga)
Group B
(1) Finland
F Sebastian Aho (Hurricanes)
F Aleksander Barkov (Panthers)
F Mikko Rantanen (Stars)
D Miro Heiskanen (Stars)
D Esa Lindell (Stars)
G Juuse Saros (Predators)
(2) Sweden
F Adrian Kempe (Kings)
F Gabriel Landeskog (Avalanche)
F William Nylander (Maple Leafs)
F Lucas Raymond (Red Wings)
D Rasmus Dahlin (Sabres)
D Victor Hedman (Lightning)
(3) Slovakia
F Martin Pospisil (Flames)
F Juraj Slafkovsky (Canadiens)
F Tomáš Tatar (Zug/NL)
D Erik Černák (Lightning)
D Martin Fehérváry (Capitals)
D Simon Nemec (Devils)
(4) Italy
F Diego Kostner (Ambrì-Piotta/NL)
F Daniel Mantenuto (Bolzano/ICEHL)
F Tommy Purdeller (Pustertal/ICEHL)
D Thomas Larkin (Schwenninger/DEL)
D Luca Zanatta (Pustertal/ICEHL)
G Damian Clara (Ducks)
Group C
(1) United States
F Jack Eichel (Golden Knights)
F Auston Matthews (Maple Leafs)
F Brady Tkachuk (Senators)
F Matthew Tkachuk (Panthers)
D Quinn Hughes (Canucks)
D Charlie McAvoy (Bruins)
(2) Germany
F Leon Draisaitl (Oilers)
F Lukas Reichel (Blackhawks)
F Nico Sturm (Panthers)
F Tim Stützle (Senators)
D Moritz Seider (Red Wings)
G Philipp Grubauer (Kraken)
(3) Latvia
F Rodrigo Abols (Flyers)
F Teddy Blueger (Canucks)
F Zemgus Girgensons (Lightning)
D Uvis Balinskis (Panthers)
G Elvis Merzļikins (Blue Jackets)
G Arturs Silovs (Canucks)
(4) Denmark
F Oliver Bjorkstrand (Lightning)
F Nikolaj Ehlers (Jets)
F Lars Eller (Capitals)
F Jonas Røndbjerg (Golden Knights)
D Jesper Jensen Aabo (EC-KAC/ICEHL)
G Frederik Andersen (Hurricanes)
In June?
@Gbear — That was the timing for the 4 Nations announcements as well. Those were on June 28.
@Gbear — And, because the Olympics are just around the corner. In the next block. In the next city. On another continent. Talk about out of sight, out of mind, eh? ;)
Not sure what the upside is of announcing this now.
@Gbear — And, how many of these rosters will change due to the “I” word? Yep, it’s kind of a slow news day.
@Mac – If I were USA, I’d wait as long as I could to name the goaltenders. Whoever is playing best by next February gets the nod!
Looks like Team USA is thinking the same way as me on the goaltending. :)
Yep, but isn’t our guy the MVP of the best league in the world? :)
Just don’t play him on the road….
When would you do it to maximize the upside of interest in the Olympics?
Probably during pre-season. Nothing should be distracting from the Stanley Cup.
Sweden and Finland off to a strong start with their sixes.
Feel like I will be secretly rooting for Italy.
Quite the underdog already :)
Good luck with that.
Sweden and Finland look quite elite just based on their first 6 roster picks.
Czechia and Switzerland don’t look too bad either with their first 6 roster picks.
Italy does look like the long shot in this though. They’ll be the underdog team but those type of teams typically will have an upset at some point in the tournament that will stun everyone.
To add to my comment, Canada looks as elite as anyone in the tournament but that’s not a surprise by any means.
The USA also looks elite too but surprised Jake Guentzel wasn’t one of the first 6 roster picks for USA as he was USA’s top goal scorer in the 4 Nations tournament as that’s a bit of a snub towards him.
I am surprised Canada is allowed to list Makar. Isn’t he currently suspended by Hockey Canada from international competition (under IIHF) due to the ongoing 2018 WJC teammates in court?
No, he’s been cleared for a while now.
Way to put the Stanley Cup finals on page six! LET’S GO LATVIA!!!!!
Wilf, if this minor note gets you distracted, (A) it is not shocking at all and (B) don’t blame the bloggers – that is on you.
The Kraken are doing their part to make sure Germany won’t win. The German Gentlemen is a sieve and doubt he fairs much better in elite International Competition. Time to cut the ties and see if they can get a bucket of balls for him.
How is Reichel better than Peterka?????
Reichel is AHL, All day long.
Fillip Forsberg should have been in Sweden’s top 6. Terrible.
Figured a few of you would be tossing fits over six guys named to a 25-man roster for an event being played next year. Thanks for stepping up.
You are welcome, Don’t forget to tip the waitresses.
Very true.