Team Canada Leans On Hockey Star Power for Olympics

The National Hockey League’s return to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years is taking shape as Team Canada, the betting favorite in men’s hockey at the upcoming 2026 Games in Italy, released its roster Wednesday afternoon.

Superstars such as the Oilers’ Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon of the Avalanche, and the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby are predictably leading the squad. Youth, however, will also be served on the Canadian roster as 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini made the team, too. 

The Sharks phenom, third in NHL scoring behind McDavid and MacKinnon, is among a set of recent top draft picks turning heads throughout the 2025–26 season. Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong said Celebrini was an early selection for the national team, with the spot locked in by early December as one of 12 core players. 

The process to get to the final team, however, was rather grueling as several top stars, including the Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard, were left off the roster as final selections were made. Team Canada, however, generally prioritized prior international experience, with the particular exception of Celebrini. 

“There are so many worthy players. Not one player played their way off of this team. It’s just that 25 guys played their way on,” Armstrong said. “[Bedard]’s name was right there to the last second. … The reality is we have so many good players and hard decisions to make.”

The U.S. squad—seen as the top Olympic rival to the Canadians and the runner-up to Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this year—will release its roster Friday during a live announcement on NBC’s Today show. The network has the U.S. media rights to the upcoming Olympics, part of what is expected to be a blockbuster month for NBC with that event joining coverage of Super Bowl LX and the NBA All-Star Game.

Arena Matters

Organizers for the Milan-Cortina Olympics, meanwhile, continue to race against the clock to complete Santagiulia Arena, the venue for the hockey competition, in time. Construction has been delayed, raising concerns from the NHL and NHL Players’ Association, and it’s now expected that work will be completed just before the Feb. 5 start of the women’s tournament.

The NHL has sent some of its personnel to the construction site to aid in the final stage of facility development. While there remains cautious optimism, deputy league commissioner Bill Daly said recently that “if the players feel the ice is unsafe, we’re not going to play. It’s as simple as that.”

Team Canada VP of hockey operations Scott Salmond said Wednesday that its organization “fully expects the arena will be built and will be ready. That’s our expectation.”