(Photo Credit: @NHL on Instagram)

Next February, most Las Vegans will be proudly rooting on Team USA to make a deep run in the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. Currently, there are nine Golden Knights vying to make their individual national teams. A few are locks but others are on the bubble. Either way, when the Americans are not in the brand new stadium in Italy on the Olympic ice, there are plenty of VGK’ers to be entertained by.

VGK’s Olympic Hopefuls

Jack Eichel – USA
Noah Hanifin – USA
Adin Hill – Canada
Mitch Marner – Canada
Mark Stone – Canada
Shea Theodore – Canada
Tomas Hertl – Czech Republic
William Karlsson – Sweden
Jonas Rondbjerg – Denmark
Akira Schmid – Switzerland

We know that Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl, William Karlsson, Mitch Marner, and Jonas Rondbjerg are locks to make their country’s All-Star lineup. As for the others, there are some tight races, especially up in Canada. Well-deserved veterans like Mark Stone and Shea Theodore find themselves right near the cut line. Up North, TSN broke down the chances of Canada’s borderline candidates, which include a few of Vegas’ best players.

The Sports Network calculated that VGK’s newest forward, Mitch Marner, has a 99.5% chance to don a Team Canada sweater. It would take an injury or a very unlikely opt-out for Marner to miss the Italian games. Vegas’ top defenseman Theodore, who missed most of 4 Nations due to injury, has made his case to remain on Team Canada.

However, Drew Doughty, Josh Morrisey, Colton Parayko, and Devon Toews have better odds to participate in the 2026 Olympic games. It would be a surprise if any were cut. Currently, TSN expects Theodore to make the club. The Canadian outlet gives the Golden Knights’ top defenseman an 87.5% chance to survive the restructuring.

Now, things get tricky for Team Canada when it comes to filling out their forward unit. While Stone won an intramural Gold medal at 4 Nations, he’s now competing with others attempting to steal his roster spot. TSN gives Stone a 76.19% chance to secure his right-wing position for Team Canada. Lurking behind him is physical right-winger Tom Wilson and a slew of young centers. Team Canada may decide to go younger to get experience for future national players like Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini.

More than likely, the upcoming Winter Olympics would be Stone’s last opportunity to compete for a real Gold medal with his countrymen. There tends to be some emotions and loyalty involved when building the perfect Olympic squad. For those reasons, expect to see VGK’s captain in red and white next February.