Calgary Flames rearguard MacKenzie Weegar is officially on the radar to represent Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Weegar was among the invitees announced Friday for Hockey Canada’s national teams orientation camp, which is slated for Aug. 26-28 in Calgary and will include the top candidates for the men’s, women’s and para rosters.
The three-day get-together is an off-ice event. The itinerary will include team-building sessions, meetings, presentations and media interviews, but there will not be a star-studded scrimmage.
“While the next several months will bring intense evaluation and difficult roster decisions, we look forward to kicking off the season in Calgary and giving our athletes and staff a chance to come together and start to become one team as we set our sights on February,” said Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada’s senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations, in Friday’s announcement.
Weegar, who was raised in the Ottawa area and is now considered the frontrunner to be the Flames’ next captain, was also in the mix to wear the Maple Leaf this past winter at the 4 Nations Face-Off, although he ultimately didn’t crack Canada’s roster.
He is among the 13 defencemen invited to the late August camp. Also on that list are the Colorado Avalanche dynamic duo of Cale Makar and Devon Toews, plus Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers, Noah Dobson of the Montreal Canadiens, Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings, Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers, Thomas Harley of the Dallas Stars, Brandon Montour of the Seattle Kraken, Josh Morrissey of the Winnipeg Jets, Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues, Travis Sanheim of the Philadelphia Flyers and Shea Theodore of the Vegas Golden Knights. (The Calgary-raised Makar is one of a half-dozen dudes already named to the roster. The other five are forwards.)
Colorado Avalanche forward Miles Wood is sandwiched between Flames defencemen Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar.
As Hockey Canada’s brass ponder their blue-line options for Milano Cortina 2026, they will value Weegar’s versatility. The 31-year-old is a right-shot who is also comfortable on the left side, and he is capable of playing major minutes but can also provide the sort of bite that coaches often covet from those in a bottom-pairing role.
Weegar notched eight goals and 47 points in 81 games during the 2024-25 campaign. He led the Flames in assists (39), plus-minus (+18) and average icetime (24:10) and was fifth in the NHL in blocked shots (192).
He has had a heck of a summer, too. He was married last weekend in Montreal. Among those in attendance to see MacKenzie and Maggie tie the knot were Flames teammates Blake Coleman, Matt Coronato, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, Ryan Lomberg and Dustin Wolf.