Predictions For Canada’s Hockey Roster At The 2026 Olympics

NHL players will be participating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Here are my predictions for the next team Canada hockey roster at the Olympics. This includes my projected forward lines, defense pairs, goalies, powerplay and penalty kill units. NOTE: We will be updating this as the tournament draws closer as players rise and fall based on performance.  

Gunner’s Projected Roster For Team Canada At The Next Olympics

Forward Lines

You can lock in Connor McDavid as the number one center for this team. McDavid is also my early pick for who will end up as the captain. This team will have a bunch of captains on it, so you can’t really go wrong on that front.

Zach Hyman has some amazing chemistry with McDavid, but that is not the only reason why he makes the team (but it definitely helps). Hyman has proven that he can score goals at an elite level. He can create space for his teammates and will work his tail off to retrieve the puck for them. He should be on this team and will be riding shotgun alongside McDavid.

I am going with Connor Bedard to finish off this top line for Canada. Bedard is a center but on a team as stacked as this, moving him to the wing makes sense. McDavid is a pass-first guy and pairing him with a sharpshooter like Bedard sounds like it could be magic. Hyman will grind and get both guys plenty of open space. Seems like a great fit to me.

Nathan MacKinnon would be the top center on this team if Connor McDavid didn’t exist. Since he does, MacKinnon will likely be the second line center, which gives Canada an insane one-two punch down the middle. Pick your poison against Team Canada, as you are going to have to put your shutdown line against either McDavid or MacKinnon. That is going to be a nightmare decision for opposing coaches.

I am going to put Sidney Crosby on the wing. At Crosby’s age, him moving to the wing seems like the right call and won’t be asking too much of him. Crosby and MacKinnon are close friends and I would love to see how they do on a line together. They train together every Summer, so I assume they will have some great chemistry.

You could probably put anyone on the wing and it would work here. I will go with Mitch Marner, who should have a field day setting up both Crosby and MacKinnon. 

Brayden Point should make this team. I think you can play him up and down the lineup and he would do great. I currently have him penciled in as Canada’s third line center for this tournament.

I also think Mathew Barzal will make this team. With how stacked Canada is, I don’t see him in the top 6 but I could see him as a good fit on the third line.

Steven Stamkos is a big question mark because of his age. If he is still playing well at this time, he will make the team as he provides both goal scoring and leadership. Stamkos has chemistry with Point, so that pairing makes sense. Barzal adds some speed to the line. I think that they could be a good trio. 

To me, the fourth line is a real crapshoot. Canada has so much talent that it will depend on who is playing at an elite level at this time. It will also depend on if Canada wants a pure shutdown line or not.

My current pick for the fourth line is Brad Marchand, Robert Thomas, and Nick Suzuki. All three guys are two-way players who Canada can trust. They can provide the team with energy and chip in offensively.

The biggest question mark of the group for me is Marchand but that is only because of his age. It will depend on how Brad Marchand is playing because he is going to be old when this tournament takes place. If he keeps up his play, he will make this team.

Sam Reinhart scored 57 goals in 2024. If he can keep it up, he will be hard to keep off the team and would replace someone on the roster.

Travis Konecny and Brandon Hagel might not be the most appealing names on paper but they are great two-way players who could be excellent fourth-liners on this team.

Defense Pairs

It is a no-brainer that Cale Makar will be on the top pair at this tournament but who will be his partner? Many people think that it will be his Colorado Avalanche partner, Devon Toews. I think that probably makes the most sense here as Toews is a good player in his own right and the chemistry is there. It will depend on how Toews’ game holds up as he is getting up there in age. For now, I am going to keep them together.

This pairing can play against the other team’s best line. They can also move the puck to Canada’s top forwards.

Josh Morrissey is a lock for this team in my eyes. He is someone who could easily slide up and play with Cale Makar if Devon Toews doesn’t make the team. I expect Morrissey to be in the top four either way.

Noah Dobson should be on this team. I am high on him and expect him to keep getting better. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the top four.

A Morrissey and Dobson pairing could be solid and I think that they would compliment one another well.

I think that Evan Bouchard has a real good chance to be on the team. He is still improving and has an elite shot that they can use on the Powerplay. 

I am not certain about Alex Pietrangelo as his age will be a big question mark at this time. He would provide leadership and he would be a solid partner for Bouchard.

Both guys are question marks because of how old they will be at the time of the tournament. If they keep up their play though, either of them could find themselves on the team.

Goalies

There is no doubt that goaltending will be the weakness of Team Canada at this tournament. This is going to depend on who is playing their best this time and I am not super confident in any of them. As a result, I am not going to spend too much time on this right now.

Goalies are weird and it could be someone from off the board who comes in and makes a big impact.

My longshot pick is Devon Levi, who has a lot of promise.

Powerplay Units

Penalty Kill Units

What do you think the Team Canada lineup will look like for the 2026 Olympics? Do you disagree with my on anything? Make sure to let us know in the comment section below.