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On December 31, the ice hockey federations representing men’s teams at the 2026 Olympics will name their official rosters. For organizations like Hockey Canada and USA Hockey, the rosters have been the subject of non-stop debate on broadcasts, blogs, and social media. For some of the other 10 countries headed to the Games, those conversations ignite less of a firestorm of controversy but are important nonetheless. 

A few years ago, early roster projections had the Vancouver Canucks sending multiple players to the U.S. and Canadian teams. That’s not the case anymore, but there are still bound to be some Canucks players headed to the Games for fans to cheer on when Canada isn’t playing. 

Let’s see who we can expect on men’s Olympic hockey rosters in 2026. 

Teddy Blueger, Latvia

Lukas Reichel, Germany

Each Olympic team named six preliminary players to its roster in the summer. At the time, the Canucks had three players named, as Quinn Hughes (U.S.) and Arturs Silovs (Latvia) were on the team, along with Blueger. Now it’s two, since Hughes and Silovs have since been traded and Reichel came over from the Chicago Blackhawks during the season. 

However, it’s worth asking whether either of these players will still be on the Canucks when the Olympics start in early February. It’s no secret that Reichel has been shopped around by the Canucks, while Blueger is a pending unrestricted free agent and would make sense as a trade piece. Blueger has also played only two games this year, both in mid-October, after he got injured again. Earlier this month, Canucks head coach Adam Foote said that the team was hoping Blueger would be back after Christmas.  

Filip Hronek, Czechia

Hronek has been quite solid to start this year, especially since the Quinn Hughes trade has forced him to be the team’s de facto number one defenceman. He’ll play a similar role with Czechia, as the team has few NHL blueliners to lean on. 

Elias Pettersson (forward), Sweden

It must be said that we did consider putting Pettersson in the next tier down given how he played for Team Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this year and how things have been going for him in general over the last little while. But, when he’s played this year, Pettersson has been an effective centre for the Canucks, even if he’s not exactly proving a bargain at his current cap hit of $11.6 million. 

There aren’t 13 better forwards from Sweden right now, clearly. But there is a chance the team slots him on the wing to start the tournament, and he almost definitely won’t be the squad’s number one centre, like he was at the 4 Nations. That role has been snatched up by Anaheim’s young phenom, Leo Carlsson. 

Filip Chytil, Czechia

The only thing that should stop Chytil from earning a spot on Czechia’s Olympic team is health. The centre has been out since he was the target of a crushing hit from Washington’s Tom Wilson. Chytil has dealt with concussion issues throughout his career. He has been skating lately, which is an encouraging sign, but there isn’t a timetable on his return right now. 

The likely scenario is that Chytil is named to the team and then replaced if he’s unable to go due to injury. Czechia doesn’t have 14 NHL forwards currently in the league, so on talent alone Chytil is on this team. 

David Kampf, Czechia

Another Czechia hopeful! As previously stated, Czechia doesn’t have 14 forwards in the NHL. But also, Kampf wasn’t in the NHL until recently. The forward mutually terminated his contract with the Maple Leafs, as that organization had him toiling in the AHL, and he felt that in order to have a shot for the Olympics, he had to be in the NHL. 

So the Canucks brought him into the lineup. And the defensive forward has been as advertised. The Canucks don’t give up much when he’s on the ice, but he also only has point (a goal) in 15 games. Perhaps that’s what Czechia wants. Outside of stars like David Pastrnak and Martin Necas, Czechia doesn’t have the skill of many of the other teams in the tournament, so the best option might be to try to grind everything to a halt and eke out a low-scoring victory with the help of likely starting goalie Lukas Dostal. While he’s not on some of the roster projections for Team Czechia, we’re betting Kampf makes it. 

Kevin Lankinen, Finland

He would have been a lock last year, and he did make the 4 Nations roster, even playing two games. 

But Lankinen hasn’t been great for the Canucks this year, to the tune of an .880 save percentage. Nashville’s Juuse Saros is the likely starter. The Sabres’ Ukko-Pekka Luokkonen was the other goalie taken to 4 Nations, but he hasn’t been very good either, with a save percentage only a few points better than Lankinen’s. Bruins veteran Joonas Korpisalo has also been garnering some attention in terms of roster projections. 

We think Lankinen makes it, but it’s probably going to be a tough decision for Team Finland. 

Marcus Pettersson, Sweden

Pettersson represented Sweden recently at the World Championships, likely in a bid to help make his case for this team. But Sweden is stacked with sold, puck-moving left-handed defencemen like Victor Hedman, Rasmus Dahlin, Jonas Brodin, and Gustav Forsling. 

Pettersson isn’t making the team over any of those guys, and if Sweden’s brass is deciding between a veteran like him or Mattias Ekholm and young, promising defenceman Simon Edvinsson for the seventh or eighth spot, they’re probably going to lean toward the youngster. We think he probably misses the cut unless there’s an injury. 

Thatcher Demko, USA

Many members of this Canucks team have at one point or another had their name bandied about as a possibility to play for Team USA at the Olympics. Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, and Kiefer Sherwood have all heard those rumours about them in their respective hot streaks. All three of those forwards aren’t going to get the call from Team USA general manager Bill Guerin, unfortunately. 

And it’s likely that Demko won’t, either. It’s not a talent problem. Demko remains one of the best goaltenders in the league, and, if he was Canadian, would have one of the best pedigrees among contenders for the crease. The issue is that the U.S. is particularly stacked at the goaltending position and also that Demko has been oft-injured to the point that he hasn’t been able to properly make his case for the team. 

The U.S. brought Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger, and Jeremy Swayman to the 4 Nations tournament. Hellebuyck is a lock. Swayman had a bad year last year but is playing well this season, and Oettinger has been solid. It’s hard to see Team USA making a change in net, even if it feels like Demko has the skill for the squad. 

Aatu Raty, Finland

There was a universe in which Raty emerged as a strong two-way centre for the Canucks this season and made his case for Team Finland over players like Oliver Kapanen, Erik Haula, and Joel Armia at the bottom of the squad’s roster. With 11 points in 29 games and some solid all-around play, it’s not that Raty hasn’t held his part of that bargain. It’s just that, as he spends nights as a healthy scratch in the press box for reasons not totally clear, it’s getting harder for the player to make his case.

Raty should definitely be in the lineup for the Canucks right now. But it’s becoming harder to see him on Team Finland, even if he makes sense as a bottom-six, young forward that could give the team some jump.