If early practice line combinations are any indication, Tom Wilson appears set to play a massive role for Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

After arriving in Italy with Washington Capitals teammate Logan Thompson earlier in the day, Wilson hit the ice for Canada’s first skate ahead of their opening game against Czechia on February 12.

According to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, the expected checking-line forward took up a spot on the team’s high-scoring first line, playing on the right wing of a trio also featuring Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini.

Team Canada’s first practice lines at 2026 Winter Olympics

Suzuki

MacKinnon

Marchand

While the inclusion of the rugged winger in Canada’s top six might be surprising to some, Wilson is no stranger to playing first-line minutes with the league’s top players, as he has regularly skated with names like Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Nicklas Backstrom during his career with the Capitals.

Wilson’s role on the line will likely be to create space for McDavid and Celebrini on the smaller-than-normal Olympic ice surface in Milan. McDavid, who recently donkey kicked Wilson in the nether regions during an Oilers-Capitals game, plays with a similar two-way, no-nonsense winger with the Oilers in Zach Hyman, whom McDavid helped turn into a 54-goal scorer during the 2023-24 campaign.

With the first-line assignment, Wilson is skating with the NHL’s current leading scorer, McDavid (96), and the league’s fourth-ranked scorer, Celebrini (81). The trio has a combined 226 points this season, including 85 goals. The combination is brand new for Canada as neither Wilson nor Celebrini played for their country at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off.

Canada’s other line combinations show that they plan on spreading out their center depth with McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Sidney Crosby all leading their own lines. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman added that Nick Suzuki and Sam Reinhart seemed to be switching spots on the de facto second and fourth lines.

Sam Bennett and Seth Jarvis, both late injury-replacement additions, appear set to begin the tournament as healthy scratches.

There has been no indication of who will be Canada’s starting goaltender, but the competition is assumed to be between Jordan Binnington, who held the spot at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and the Capitals’ Thompson. Darcy Kuemper is the projected third goalie.

While the women’s Olympic hockey tournament is already underway, the men’s action doesn’t start for another few days. Slovakia and Finland will play the first game on Wednesday.