USA, Canada, Czechia Name First Players for 2026 Olympic Hockey in Italy

USA Hockey has announced the first six members of the 2026 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team, including forwards Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Brady Tkachuk, and Matthew Tkachuk, along with defensemen Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy. These players were part of the U.S. team that competed in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February and are all first-time Olympians. The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, with the men's ice hockey tournament taking place in Milan. Several NHL teams are well represented in the preliminary Olympic rosters: the Florida Panthers have five players named for different national teams, and three Boston Bruins players, including McAvoy, were selected for U.S. and Czech rosters. Canada's initial roster includes Colorado Avalanche stars Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Martin Necas, while Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog is selected for Sweden despite recent injury challenges. The full U.S. roster will be announced by early January 2026, with the goal of winning Olympic gold for the first time since 1980.