WASHINGTON, DC — Tom Wilson and Logan Thompson aren’t the only Canadian Caps garnering Olympics buzz.

Jakob Chychrun played the hero on Thursday night as Washington halted a three-game losing streak, scoring twice in a 4-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Not only did Chychrun record his second multi-goal game of the season, but doing so against Toronto meant his big night got broadcast to a national Canadian audience.

“Doesn’t hurt his case that that’s on Sportsnet tonight,” head coach Spencer Carbery said of Chychrun’s Olympic chances.

With 14 goals in 34 games this season, Chychrun is now on pace for a 33-goal campaign. If he kept up that pace, he’d become the first Capitals blueliner to hit the 30-goal mark since Mike Green did so in 2008-2009 (31 goals in 68 games) and just the third to do so in franchise history.

Chychrun grew up in Florida, but holds dual citizenship as his father Jeff, a former NHL player, hails from Quebec. He has competed for Canada since Team USA blocked him from playing in the USHL at age 15. When asked last week whether he’d had any conversations with Team Canada ahead of the Milan Games in February, Chychrun was quick to shift the attention to his work in DC.

“I’m not calling them, no,” he said with a laugh. “No, (I’m) just continuing to focus on what we do in here, and I know that stuff will take care of itself.”

The rest of the team, however, has been far less modest about his Olympic chances. Goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who represented Team USA at Worlds in 2024, was already arguing Chychrun’s case shortly before Thanksgiving.

“He’s one heck of a player,” Lindgren said then. “I don’t know how that guy wouldn’t be on the Olympic team.”

Lindgren’s comments came while Chychrun was partway through a 10-game point streak, and the rest of the hockey world has since taken notice, with Elliotte Friedman reporting earlier this month that he was getting some consideration for the Olympic squad.

Nearly halfway through the season, Chychrun’s 14 goals lead all NHL defensemen. Both of his tallies on Thursday night came off lightning-fast shots: the first after the puck bounced off the boards, and the second off the crossbar.

Goaltender Logan Thompson has been on the other side of that shot in practice plenty of times, and he described what makes it so lethal.

“It’s heavy, and it’s fast,” he said Thursday night. “You don’t have a lot of time to react to it. I think he’s surprised a lot of goalies with how hard it actually does come off. You saw it on the bar down one. [Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby] was there, and in position and just, really not that much time to react to it.”

Though Chychrun has been having arguably the best season of his NHL career, Carbery hasn’t been surprised to see him thrive offensively.

“I think we saw it last year,” he said. “His offensive instincts (are) as good as anybody in this league, of knowing when to get into spots, and jumping down, and just reading the game offensively. He’s right up there with the best guys in the league. And his shot…some guys can bomb a one-timer. Chychy there, in that wrist shot, that snap shot, whatever you want to call it, that shot right there is — he’s right up there as good as anybody in the world that can shoot a puck like that.”

Carbery also emphasized Chychrun’s play away from the puck, which has attracted far less attention but could bolster his case for the Olympics.

“The goals, and the offense, and that rush at the end of the game, that’s a huge part of his game, and he’s excellent in that area, but I thought he was really good on his breakout touches. He had some really good line rushes, closes, handling wide speed.

“I thought he did a really good job of the stuff that we really focus on with him, of his all-around game as a defenseman. I thought he was really good in the stuff without the puck, and then obviously he was elite tonight with the puck.”

The Capitals already have one player confirmed to an Olympic roster — Slovakia named Martin Fehervary as one of its initial six selections in June — and both Tom Wilson and Logan Thompson have gotten plenty of attention from Team Canada. If Chychrun continues his level of play, the team could add yet another Olympian to its ranks.

Team Canada is expected to release its roster for the 2026 Olympic Games at the end of the month, with the tournament set to kick off on February 11.