Laila Edwards, Abbey Murphy, Taylor Heise are x-factors for Team USA
U.S. and Canada have dominated hockey, and it looks like that will stay the same heading into 2026 Olympics. Nancy Armour lists x-factors for Team USA.
Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard was off to a great start, prompting speculation about whether he would be named to Canada’s Olympic team.
Then he suffered a fluke injury on Dec. 12 that will keep him out until sometime in the new year. Wednesday, Team Canada announced an Olympic roster that didn’t include Bedard.
How much did the injury play a role in him not making the team?
“Not a lot, quite honestly,” Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong told reporters. “His name was right there till the last second because we could have named him and move forward. I think the reality is there’s so many good players and we just had difficult decisions to make.”
Bedard, 20, the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick, had 44 points in 31 games at the time of his injury.
The Canadians did add a young player to their roster, which mostly features players from the victorious 4 Nation Face-Off team.
San Jose Sharks 2024 No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini, 19, is heading to Milan. He ranks third in the league in scoring with 60 points.
Celebrini is considered to be the better two-way player of the two.
Tom Wilson, Bo Horvat and Nick Suzuki are among the other new faces for the 2026 Olympics.