Russia mock hockey roster: Alex Ovechkin’s last run, dominant goalies among biggest 2026 Olympics what-ifs originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
As the best hockey players in the world compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics, one team is notably absent from Milan-Cortina.
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Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the International Ice Hockey Federation banned the country from participating in its world hockey tournaments. That ban still holds and applies to the Olympics, which means the Russian men’s and women’s hockey teams are ineligible to compete.
As a result, many of the NHL’s top players are staying home, while Canada, Sweden, Finland, and the United States all field teams full of NHL stars. If Russia were allowed to compete, it would have had a chance to win gold and certainly would have made for a much more competitive tournament.
Russia’s absence also affects individual players, including Alex Ovechkin. The Washington Capitals star last competed in the 2018 Olympics, and missing out on this one likely means he will not be an Olympian again.
Here’s a look at how the Russian Olympic men’s hockey team could have looked if they were eligible to participate in 2026.
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MORE 2026 OLYMPICS: Live medal tracker | Viewer’s guide | Day-by-day schedule
Russia mock hockey roster
Player
Position
NHL Team
Alex Ovechkin
Forward
Washington Capitals
Artemi Panarin
Forward
Los Angeles Kings
Nikita Kucherov
Forward
Tampa Bay Lightning
Kirill Kaprizov
Forward
Minnesota Wild
Pavel Buchneivich
Forward
St. Louis Blues
Evgeni Malkin
Forward
Pittsburgh Penguins
Andrei Svechnikov
Forward
Carolina Hurricanes
Kirill Marchenko
Forward
Columbus Blue Jackets
Ivan Demidov
Forward
Montreal Canadiens
Pavel Dorofeyev
Forward
Vegas Golden Knights
Dmitri Voronkov
Forward
Columbus Blue Jackets
Ivan Barbashev
Forward
Vegas Golden Knights
Vasili Podkolzin
Forward
Edmonton Oilers
Vladislav Namestnikov
Forward
Winnipeg Jets
Mikhail Sergachev
Defense
Utah Mammoth
Vladislav Gavrikov
Defense
New York Rangers
Nikita Zadorov
Defense
Boston Bruins
Dmitry Orlov
Defense
San Jose Sharks
Artem Zub
Defense
Ottawa Senators
Ivan Provorov
Defense
Columbus Blue Jackets
Alexander Nikishin
Defense
Carolina Hurricanes
Yan Kuznetsov
Defense
Calgary Flames
Sergei Bobrovsky
Goalie
Florida Panthers
Igor Shesterkin
Goalie
New York Rangers
Andrei Vasilevsky
Goalie
Tampa Bay Lightning
Projected Russian lines:
First line: Alex Ovechkin-Evgeni Malkin-Nikita Kucherov
Second line: Kirill Kaprizov-Pavel Buchneivich-Artemi Panarin
Third line: Andrei Svechnikov-Kirill Marchenko-Ivan Barbashev
Fourth line: Pavel Dorofeyev-Vladislav Namestnikov-Dmitri Voronkov
13th forward: Vasili Podkolzin
First pair: Mikhail Sergachev-Vladislav Gavrikov
Second pair: Nikita Zadorov-Artem Zub
Third pair: Dmitry Orlov-Alexander Nikishkin
7th defender: Ivan Provorov
Starting goalie: Igor Shesterkin
Backup goalie: Andrei Vasilevsky
Scratches: Ivan Demidov, Yan Kuznetsov, Sergei Bobrovsky
A Russian team would be full of stars, especially in the forward group. Alex Ovechkin, Artemi Panarin, Nikita Kucherov and Kirill Kaprizov are all dynamic scorers who have individually been the best players on their teams in previous years.
Other players like Pavel Buchneivich and Andrei Svechnikov have star power to provide incredible depth to an impressive group.
However, the biggest weakness for the Russian team would be a lack of centers. Evgeni Malking would center the first line, but the team would probably need a winger to temporarily move to center to even out the talent gaps.
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On defense, Russia would have a few shut down defenders, like Vladislav Gavrikov and Nikita Zadorov, while Sergachev would lead the offense on the blue line.
Finally, Russia would have the best goalie group of any team in the tournament. Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevsky both have multiple Stanley Cups, while Igor Shesterkin is among the best goalies in the league every year.
MORE: Ducks goalie prospect makes an eye-popping 46 saves for Italy in Olympic debut