The last time NHL players were at the Olympics was in 2014. That year, the likes of Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews would earn Canada its second-consecutive gold medal; a 3-0 victory over Sweden in the gold medal game would secure that honour for the Canadians. Twelve years later, a new generation of Canadian NHL players will take the ice in Milan. But don't worry, Sidney Crosby will still be there.
There are going to be a lot of unknowns heading into this year's Winter Olympics, especially as eight of the twelve teams set to contest the tournament did not take part in last winter's Four Nations Faceoff. That means that we only have a fair idea of what four teams will look like heading into this tournament, which should only add to the excitement and the competitive nature of this year's men's Olympic hockey tournament.
One of the teams which has a sample size of international games for us to work with? Canada.
In last year's Four Nations Faceoff, Canada and the United States qualified for the gold medal game out of the four-team round robin; the other two teams in contention were Sweden and Finland. In overtime of the gold medal game, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid would score the winning goal (call it a golden goal if you will) to beat the United States by a score of 3-2.
McDavid will arguably generate most of the headlines from that tournament, but it wasn't just his fingerprints that were on the gold medal-winning performance. Sidney Crosby contributed five total points throughout the tournament, Brandon Hagel had a perfect faceoff win percentage, and the MacKinnon - Crosby - McDavid power play forward line was quite lethal.
The majority of that Four Nations-winning roster will remain intact for this Winter Olympics. That means one should expect more highlight reel goals from Connor McDavid, more big defensive plays from the likes of Cale Makar, and more big time assists from players like Mitch Marner.
Along with the players returning from the Four Nations Faceoff, there will be six players making their debut for Team Canada. The most notable name is San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini, who has played a massive role in dragging his team into the Western Conference playoff race. Through his first fifty-four games of the season, Celebrini has 81 points (28 goals and 53 points) to his name; he also has a +11 +/- rating and four game-winning goals to his name.
At nineteen years of age, Celebrini will be the youngest player to ever be named to an Olympic hockey roster featuring NHL players. But he's not the only player on the younger side of things to make it to Canada's Olympic lineup; Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, who is 26 years old, will also be making his debut for Team Canada at these Winter Olympics. Over the course of his first fifty-six games of the season, Nick Suzuki has been scoring at a point-per-game pace; he has 18 goals and 47 assists for a total of 65 points on the season. He's also tenth in the NHL in points as of February 3rd; his efforts have helped catapult the Montreal Canadiens from their rebuilding phase into a form that more closely resembles that of a playoff contender.
The forward group isn't the only part of the roster to feature some fresh faces. Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper and Washington Capitals netminder Logan Thompson will both make their debuts for the Canadian team, replacing Adin Hill of the Vegas Golden Knights and Sam Montembeault of the Montreal Canadiens.
Darcy Kuemper will enter as the second-most experienced goaltender behind St Louis Blues netminder Jordan Binnington. Like Binnington, Darcy Kuemper has a Stanley Cup to his name; he won his title with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, while Jordan Binnington won his three years prior with the St Louis Blues. He's also coming off of a 2024-25 campaign that saw him earn a 31-11-7 record while posting a .922 save percentage and a goals against average of just two goals per game.
Kuemper is on a slower pace to start this season, but the strong performances are still there. Through his first thirty-five appearances, he's accrued a 14-10-9 record; at the same time, he's posted a .902 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.55.
Elsewhere, Logan Thompson has arguably been one of the NHL's best goaltenders so far this season. He currently sits tenth in the NHL in goals against per game (2.46), has a save percentage of .912, and has posted a 18-16-4 record through his first thirty-eight appearances. Last season, he won 31 of his 42 starts while posting similar statistics to the ones he's putting up this season.
Canada’s Olympic gold hopes rest on veterans who have been here before
While most of this roster is returning from last year's Four Nations Faceoff, the vast majority of the team has never played at a Winter Olympics before.
That said, there are two players who have contested a previous edition of the Winter Olympics: Sidney Crosby and Los Angeles Kings defenceman Drew Doughty. Both Doughty and Crosby were on the gold medal-winning entries for the 2010 and 2014 Olympics; their experience will be extremely important for Canada as the team contests its first Olympics with NHL players involved in twelve years.
It will also be interesting to see if Sidney Crosby can keep his strong league form going at the international stage. While Crosby tends to put up point-per-game seasons, Olympic years have been some of his best; the last two seasons that have taken place at the same time as the Winter Olympics have seen Sidney Crosby score at least 100 points. During the 2009-10 NHL season, which took place in and around the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Sidney Crosby recorded a 109-point season and a "Golden Goal" for Team Canada. The 2013-14 NHL season would see Crosby score 104 points through 80 games; he would also lead Canada to its second consecutive gold medal.
So far this season, Sidney Crosby is once again scoring at a point-per-game clip. That said, he would fall just shy of 100 points if the season ended today. Even then, one cannot rule out a strong Olympic run and an end-of-season scoring run.
While Drew Doughty hasn't exactly been the kind of scorer that Sidney Crosby is, he is still nonetheless an important piece for any championship-winning team. Not only is he more than capable of creating offensive opportunities in any circumstance, but he's also one of the best defencemen in the entire NHL.
Though his Los Angeles Kings haven't won the Stanley Cup since 2014, the same year that the last Winter Olympics involving NHL players took place, I could see Doughty being an important veteran piece for a new generation of Olympians.
There is no margin for error
"Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?"
While that is a famous line from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, it also applies in the context of Canada's opponents in Group A.
The big name? Czechia.
Canada's World Juniors entries from the last four years will be all too familiar with that nation.
Like Canada, Czechia will be bringing a lot of NHL talent to the Olympics; one of the big names is Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak. With other stars like Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Daniel Vladar and Vegas Golden Knights forward Tomas Hertl taking part, Canada will have to try and avoid the same fate their junior team has been succumbing to quite recently.
Canada will play the Czechs in their first group game, but they'll also have to contend with Switzerland and France.
Even with the potential hiccup against Czechia in mind, I do think that Canada will get the upper hand and earn the top spot in Group A.