Hockey Canada recently announced that the 2026 Winter Olympics roster will be revealed on New Year’s Eve. And according to a recent report, Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is in the running to be one of the three Canadian goalies named to the team.
NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun noted on a recent TSN Insider Trading segment that Blackwood is one of four goalies he believes are being considered. Scott Wedgewood was not listed among the group.
“We know that Logan Thompson and Darcy Kuemper and Mackenzie Blackwood have all been very good. Especially Thompson,” LeBrun said. “Those are the four names to remain here. They’re down to those four goalies, I think.”
LeBrun added: “I think [Jordan] Binnington makes it, with two of the other three names I mentioned.”
Blackwood didn’t make his first appearance until Nov. 1 because of an offseason injury. And in the 21 games since, he’s made 11 starts and was the goalie of record in 12 games, splitting duties with Wedgewood.
His numbers are the best of the group, as he’s 10-1-1 with a .920 save percentage and two shutouts. But missing the early part of the season could have him on the outside looking in.
Thompson has seemingly worked his way into the conversation after being left off last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster. There’s a very likely scenario where Thompson is Canada’s starting goalie in the tournament. After a strong first year with the Washington Capitals, Thompson has carried that play into this season, going 13-7-3 with a .922 save percentage and one shutout.
Kuemper was recently injured in a collision involving Mikko Rantanen, although it’s not considered to be serious. The L.A. Kings goalie also has a Stanley Cup under his belt from his one-year stint with the Avs, which could give him the upper hand over Blackwood. He’s 10-6-6 with a .917 save percentage and two shutouts.
Binnington is an interesting story to watch. He has struggled since opening night, and he’s been the backup in St. Louis over the last three games. Binnington is 7-8-5 with a .869 save percentage. He has, by far, the worst statistical numbers of the bunch. But his body of work, which includes a Stanley Cup and a 4 Nations Gold Medal earlier in 2025, could be enough to make him a shoo-in.
LeBrun believes he’ll still be on the team.
“What I would say is that, certainly, he went from a lock to someone Team Canada has had to say internally, ‘he’s still struggling.’ It’s been a couple months now since the season has started,” he said. “So at the very least, they’ve had the conversation of ‘should he still be a lock to make this team?”
If, in fact, Binnington still gets the nod, that means one of Blackwood, Thompson, or Kuemper would be left off the roster. Given Blackwood’s late start, he might be the goalie that Hockey Canada keeps off, just because they’ve been following the others for longer and have gathered more information on them.
We’ll see how it plays out. But Blackwood still being in the conversation is worthwhile news, especially since Wedgewood was the one getting a lot of the early Team Canada buzz for his excellent start.
