What will Canada's Winter Olympic Roster look like in 2026?

[ORRFForever]

There is 0 concern for me about 3 bad drafts. They're still the best country in the world by a pretty wide margin considering the elite talent.

Marchand is hurt dont know how you come to that conclusion he was phenomenal in the first round. He also brings a very important element of grit, agitation, experience and being hard to play against. All aspects that I am confident HF will overlook but the real professionals will not.

I am not overly concerned about the 2018 team situation outside of Makar. Kyrou has no shot of making this team. Thomas is likely a bubble player.

Reinhart has also not come out of no where he is an elite two way player that had a break out year but was probably always going to make the team due to his versatility. His hockey sense and ability to play multiple roles in multiple positions puts him firmly on this team. Id rather try and predict what the roster will be next year at the 4 nations cup as its way sooner. Dont really love the excersize of trying to predict 2026. I do not agree on any level 2030 will be easier to predict there are millions of variables thats 6 years away.

If I were to predict the 4 nations cup this is my best guess.

Hyman Mcdavid Point
Reinhart Mackinnon Barzal
Marchand Crosby Johnston
Verhaeghe Bennett Stone
Byfield Bedard Jarvis

Toews Makar
Morrisey Pietrangelo
Theodore Doughty
Oleksiak Dobson

Binnington
Hill
Hofer

2026 is way harder but players like Mactavish, Fantilli, Lafreniere likely relaly push for spots. Agreed on guys like Harley he likely is really close.

Re : "There is 0 concern for me about 3 bad drafts."

4 bad drafts.

Re : "Marchand is hurt dont know how you come to that conclusion he was phenomenal in the first round."

I agree but, to my eyes, he looked very old and tired in Round 2.

Re : "Thomas is likely a bubble player."

I'm a fan of Thomas and, if he was available, he'd be on my team.

Re : " I do not agree on any level 2030 will be easier to predict there are millions of variables that's 6 years away."

That's true. Still, I like ALL the options we have - as opposed to 2026 where we are trying to scrape together a top end team.

Re : Your team

I really like it. Well done. Hope we win Gold.

 

[centipede2233]

Kind of insane to think that anyone is doubting Canada when they have McDavid, MacKinnon, Bedard, and Makar.

This sis t the nba where your 3 superstars can give you a dynasty. A few star players don’t impact the game like the nba does.

 

[ORRFForever]

This sis t the nba where your 3 superstars can give you a dynasty. A few star players don’t impact the game like the nba does.

No, but it certainly helps. They will be very hard to stop.

 

[Nucks2001]

For those leaving Bedard off their rosters or on the bench, take a look at the ongoing world championships where it’s Bedard’s ocean right now. This is what the kid can do on a large ice surface with semi-good NHL talent that is not the Blackhawks.

Granted, Canada has played some weak teams. Still, Bedard is making the 2026 team and will be one of Canada’s best forwards

 

[Nucks2001]

Re : "There is 0 concern for me about 3 bad drafts."

4 bad drafts.

Re : "Marchand is hurt dont know how you come to that conclusion he was phenomenal in the first round."

I agree but, to my eyes, he looked very old and tired in Round 2.

Re : "Thomas is likely a bubble player."

I'm a fan of Thomas and, if he was available, he'd be on my team.

Re : " I do not agree on any level 2030 will be easier to predict there are millions of variables that's 6 years away."

That's true. Still, I like ALL the options we have - as opposed to 2026 where we are trying to scrape together a top end team.

Re : Your team

I really like it. Well done. Hope we win Gold.

Agreed. Rob Tom is a lock for that 4th line centre position. No clue how people are leaving skill off in favour of grit when Thomas is more than capable of playing a shutdown role

 

[HFpapi]

People leaving Marner off the team are crazy.

I'm a Leafs fan so I'm as frustrated as anyone about his failure to ever show up in the playoffs but I'm inclined to judge him as a player over the hundreds of RS games vs 6-7 game sample sizes in various series.

Let's look at the facts:

1) He's still at the end of the day a player with a 99 point + Selke nominated season under his belt. Multiple 90 point seasons. If he scores 110 points next year no one will be shocked. High scorer and good defensively.

2) Canada's most talented and highest scoring natural winger. We can't bring 10 centres.

3) Unlike with the Leafs, we don't need him to be one of our 2-3 best players to have a shot. He can be the 8th best forward and we'll be fine. He'll have no pressure and he can just produce.

4) He can PK.

5) Olympic hockey is not as intense or physical as playoff hockey where Marner just doesn't have the size or mentality and shrinks. If anything, international hockey is even softer than regular season hockey. Refs have the whistles out and a player like Marner can thrive.

 

[Nucks2001]

People leaving Marner off the team are crazy.

I'm a Leafs fan so I'm as frustrated as anyone about his failure to ever show up in the playoffs but I'm inclined to judge him as a player over the hundreds of RS games vs 6-7 game sample sizes in various series.

Let's look at the facts:

1) He's still at the end of the day a player with a 99 point + Selke nominated season under his belt. Multiple 90 point seasons. If he scores 110 points next year no one will be shocked. High scorer and good defensively.

2) Canada's most talented and highest scoring natural winger. We can't bring 10 centres.

3) Unlike with the Leafs, we don't need him to be one of our 2-3 best players to have a shot. He can be the 8th best forward and we'll be fine. He'll have no pressure and he can just produce.

4) He can PK.

5) Olympic hockey is not as intense or physical as playoff hockey where Marner just doesn't have the size or mentality and shrinks. If anything, international hockey is even softer than regular season hockey. Refs have the whistles out and a player like Marner can thrive.

It’s the same people who are leaving Marner off their rosters that probably vouched for grinders on last year’s Canadian WJC team. How did that work out?

1998 and 2006 teams im looking at you. Doan, Draper, Bertuzzi, Zamuner. You don’t take grinders. Hyman is a player that complements McDavid well. Beyond that, you don’t need to stack Canada with grinders. Has never worked in the past. Only exceptions are grinders like Stone who are proven stars, 1st line and 1st PP unit guy and a Stanley Cup champion. Skill > Grit in a best-on-best. This is a best-on-best. NOT the Stanley Cup Playoffs

 

[HFpapi]

It’s the same people who are leaving Marner off their rosters that probably vouched for grinders on last year’s Canadian WJC team. How did that work out?

1998 and 2006 teams im looking at you. Doan, Draper, Bertuzzi, Zamuner. You don’t take grinders. Hyman is a player that complements McDavid well. Beyond that, you don’t need to stack Canada with grinders. Has never worked in the past. Only exceptions are grinders like Stone who are proven stars, 1st line and 1st PP unit guy and a Stanley Cup champion. Skill > Grit in a best-on-best. This is a best-on-best. NOT the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Yeah I think what Canada realized and got right in 2010 & 2014 is that physicality wasn't the key ingredient but rather versatility. Skilled guys who can play out of character or become a shut down line or PK or become a strong forechecking unit etc.

In 2010 by far our best line was the Nash-Toews-Richards line. Don't think anyone expected Nash to excel in the role that he took on.

I could easily see a Reinhart-Point-Marner or Konecny-Reinhart-Marner line for example becoming that.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Bedard - McDavid - Byfield
Stamkos - MacKinnon - Point
Marchand - Crosby - Lafreniere
Rempe - Johnston - Barzal

Morrissey - Makar
Power - Pietrangelo
Theodore - Bouchard

Hill
Jarry

 

[ORRFForever]

Bedard - McDavid - Byfield
Stamkos - MacKinnon - Point
Marchand - Crosby - Lafreniere
Rempe - Johnston - Barzal

Morrissey - Makar
Power - Pietrangelo
Theodore - Bouchard

Hill
Jarry

Shouldn't Rempe be on LAF's line?

 

[EdJovanovski]

Shouldn't Rempe be on LAF's line?

Perhaps for friendship/chemistry reasons though I imagine Laf having chemistry with Crosby and that being a pretty darn good two way line

 

[ORRFForever]

Perhaps for friendship/chemistry reasons though I imagine Laf having chemistry with Crosby and that being a pretty darn good two way line

That's fair.

 

[ORRFForever]

Sam Bennett has turned into a heck of a 2 way player.

 

[PanniniClaus]

People leaving Marner off the team are crazy.

I'm a Leafs fan so I'm as frustrated as anyone about his failure to ever show up in the playoffs but I'm inclined to judge him as a player over the hundreds of RS games vs 6-7 game sample sizes in various series.

Let's look at the facts:

1) He's still at the end of the day a player with a 99 point + Selke nominated season under his belt. Multiple 90 point seasons. If he scores 110 points next year no one will be shocked. High scorer and good defensively.

2) Canada's most talented and highest scoring natural winger. We can't bring 10 centres.

3) Unlike with the Leafs, we don't need him to be one of our 2-3 best players to have a shot. He can be the 8th best forward and we'll be fine. He'll have no pressure and he can just produce.

4) He can PK.

5) Olympic hockey is not as intense or physical as playoff hockey where Marner just doesn't have the size or mentality and shrinks. If anything, international hockey is even softer than regular season hockey. Refs have the whistles out and a player like Marner can thrive.

I am a Leaf fan and am one of those out on Marner.

I can't argue with your first 4 points at all.

5 - Watch the 4 Nations see how intense it is.. It will be plenty intense and then ramp that up again for the Olympics... yep, Mitch will be fine against most teams there, round robin games. What will he do when the chips are down against Sweden in a semi final? USA in a final when McAvoy is staring him down and he turns away?

We have young up and comers like Johnston and Stankoven.. Guys that are very versatile, combative and competitive with maybe not as much skill as Marner but not far off.

Let us also see what his numbers look like away from Matthews and the Leafs regular season PP. He will be in the mix but the brass won't soon forget this mess in 2024 unless he gives everyone a reason to forget in 24/25.

 

[Nucks2001]

I am a Leaf fan and am one of those out on Marner.

I can't argue with your first 4 points at all.

5 - Watch the 4 Nations see how intense it is.. It will be plenty intense and then ramp that up again for the Olympics... yep, Mitch will be fine against most teams there, round robin games. What will he do when the chips are down against Sweden in a semi final? USA in a final when McAvoy is staring him down and he turns away?

We have young up and comers like Johnston and Stankoven.. Guys that are very versatile, combative and competitive with maybe not as much skill as Marner but not far off.

Let us also see what his numbers look like away from Matthews and the Leafs regular season PP. He will be in the mix but the brass won't soon forget this mess in 2024 unless he gives everyone a reason to forget in 24/25.

Um I love our young guns and I know that some will reach 90+ point seasons, but the skill and talent gap is very wide between Logan Stankoven and Mitch Marner right now. With that being said, as many posters have stated, Marner is going to be surrounded by alpha dogs such as Crosby, MacKinnon, Makar, Point, Marchand and Stone along with McDavid. This isn’t the Toronto Maple Laughs (Sorry Leaf’s fans, but it’s warranted when talking about Gold Medals), Marner will be fine.

 

[bert]

Taking Barzal over Marner? Marner is objectively better than Barzal in every way. As for playoff performance and toughness, Barzal is the same deal as Marner. The only thing that Barzal has over Marner is skating and even then Marner is an elite skater and is a natural RW. Marner also has chemistry playing with MacKinnon at previous WCs

Except for things like skating, compete, ability to play with pace Barzal is way better. Barzal doesnt bail on hits, he doesnt get out of the way of shots. This is about building the best TEAM, it has to have complete buy in from everyone. I know it seems like a foreign concept to alot of posters but Marner is redundant on this team and simply doesnt fit a win at all costs mind set or mold. If you put Barzal on a line with Matthews what do you think is gonna happen? He is the focal point of his offense in a defense first system. Which leads me to my other point Barzal has experience in winning close tight games. He has experience going on deep runs playing in important games. Marner has none of that.

My 4-Nations Forwards:

Hyman-McDavid-Point
Bedard-MacKinnon-Marner
Marchand-Crosby-Reinhart
Byfield-Thomas-Stone
Extras: Johnston and Jarvis

Burns me to leave Konecny off the roster. Scheifele was a lock on my roster before, but his abysmal playoff performance and Rober Thomas just being better and younger knocks him off the roster.

Congrats on building an all star team with next to no grit. Look what Bennett is doing right now, you need those types of players. You dont need the same thing over and over again.

 

[bert]

Agreed. Rob Tom is a lock for that 4th line centre position. No clue how people are leaving skill off in favour of grit when Thomas is more than capable of playing a shutdown role

Because its a contact sport. Every cup champion has grit and is a heavy team why do you think that keeps happening?....

Do you think when defensemen are going back for a puck thats dumped in they are worried about Marner or Thomas? No they arent you need that element. Anyone that played the sport understands.

 

[Mathieukferland]

Every cup champion

With respect, I think the level of play is much higher in a best on best format than in the Stanley cup playoffs. Look at many of the mocks in this thread and you’ll see that the fourth line players and third pairing defenders would be first line or first pairing on the most recent cup champion, Las Vegas.





That being said I’m not opposed to bringing players with a more physical profile; I think my next mock after the playoffs and the worlds will see inclusion of Carter Verhaeghe and Thomas Harley. Toews, Nash, and Richards were all skill type players that had a physical element to their game, and they were the best line in the tournament in 2010.





But they are there because they have the skill to play at that level, in addition to the element of physicality they bring. As @Nucks2001 has pointed out, it would be unwise to self-handicap by bringing players like Nurse or Lowry that do not belong at that level in terms of their capability to process and play the game at the heightened level that is present in a best on best.

 

[Mathieukferland]

Do you think when defensemen are going back for a puck thats dumped in they are worried about Marner or Thomas?

Marner ok fair enough but Thomas is one of the best two way players in the game, no defender was afraid that Bergeron or Datsyuk was going to run them through the wall but they were still incredibly effective forecheckers at turning over possession and picking off rims and breakout passes. Thomas fits in this mold and is pretty much a lock for me

 

[Nucks2001]

With respect, I think the level of play is much higher in a best on best format than in the Stanley cup playoffs. Look at many of the mocks in this thread and you’ll see that the fourth line players and third pairing defenders would be first line or first pairing on the most recent cup champion, Las Vegas.





That being said I’m not opposed to bringing players with a more physical profile; I think my next mock after the playoffs and the worlds will see inclusion of Carter Verhaeghe and Thomas Harley. Toews, Nash, and Richards were all skill type players that had a physical element to their game, and they were the best line in the tournament in 2010.





But they are there because they have the skill to play at that level, in addition to the element of physicality they bring. As @Nucks2001 has pointed out, it would be unwise to self-handicap by bringing players like Nurse or Lowry that do not belong at that level in terms of their capability to process and play the game at the heightened level that is present in a best on best.

THANK YOU. I’m not saying the team doesn’t need grit. You have Hyman and Stone. I wouldn’t mind bringing another grinder as a spare part. Anything beyond that is excessive in my opinion and you need to start putting skilled players in checking roles.

as someone mentioned previously, Olympic hockey is much softer than the NHL playoffs and played on a larger ice surface. You don’t need to sluggish grinders getting cooked by much faster and skilled players.

 

[JKG33]

Hyman-McDavid-Marner
Point-MacKinnon-Bedard
Lafrenierre-Crosby-Konecny
Verhaeghe-Bennett-Reinhart
Extras: Thomas-Johnston-Jarvis

Toews-Makar
Theodore-Pietrangelo
Morrissey-Doughty
Extras: Rielly-Dobson

Binnington
Hill
Extra: Hofer

Marner would be on a pretty short leash

 

[bert]

Marner ok fair enough but Thomas is one of the best two way players in the game, no defender was afraid that Bergeron or Datsyuk was going to run them through the wall but they were still incredibly effective forecheckers at turning over possession and picking off rims and breakout passes. Thomas fits in this mold and is pretty much a lock for me

You need some bangers. Is Thomas playing over Mcdavid, Crosby or Mackinnon? No maybe on the 4th line but id rather have guys that are going to make it hard on the other team physically. There needs to be diversity in the roster.

 

[bert]

S Look at many of the mocks in this thread and you’ll see that the fourth line players and third pairing defenders would be first line or first pairing on the most recent cup champion, Las Vegas.





That being said I’m not opposed to bringing players with a more physical profile; I think my next mock after the playoffs and the worlds will see inclusion of Carter Verhaeghe and Thomas Harley. Toews, Nash, and Richards were all skill type players that had a physical element to their game, and they were the best line in the tournament in 2010.





But they are there because they have the skill to play at that level, in addition to the element of physicality they bring. As @Nucks2001 has pointed out, it would be unwise to self-handicap by bringing players like Nurse or Lowry that do not belong at that level in terms of their capability to process and play the game at the heightened level that is present in a best on best.

So you'd like to bring a player like Marner as Nuck2001 has continued to want on the team who cant be effective in a lower level of hockey that is the stanley cup playoffs? I dont really understand the logic. As you mentioned the 'grind line' on team canada at the last olympics was one of its most effective. Perimeter players that dont get to the middle of the ice simply arent successful when the intensity and level of play is heightened. Bennett is about as close to a Mike Richards style player as Canada has right now.

 

[Mathieukferland]

So you'd like to bring a player like Marner as Nuck2001 has continued to want on the team who cant be effective in a lower level of hockey that is the stanley cup playoffs? I dont really understand the logic. As you mentioned the 'grind line' on team canada at the last olympics was one of its most effective. Perimeter players that dont get to the middle of the ice simply arent successful when the intensity and level of play is heightened. Bennett is about as close to a Mike Richards style player as Canada has right now.

Marner will be off on my next mock, replaced by Verhaeghe on the fourth line. And to answer your other question Thomas is on that fourth line as well.

Bennett is having a good playoff yes, but I’d be hesistating slightly to have him with IIHF officials given his prior disciplinary infractions in the playoffs. If anything the player in that mould that is closer to the roster (in my opinion) is Lafrenière; he is proving he can play will with elite players and be a physical presence on the forecheck.

 

[HFpapi]

Hyman - McDavid - Marner
Stamkos - Mackinnon - Bedard
Marchand - Crosby - Point
Hagel - Thomas - Reinhart
Barzal, Johnston

Would be my forward group.

Stamkos and Marchand can easily fall out depending on how they look first half of next season and although I like what Hagel brings, need to see him keep up last seasons level of play.

Byfield, Cozens, Stone, Konency, Scheifele, Lafrenierre, McTavish, Stankoven, Suzuki, Horvat, Verhaeghe, Bennett, Jarvis, RNH, Kyrou.

All these guys are in play. Might not be the strongest group we've ever had but among the deepest. How do you choose from all of these players.