Canada Olympic hockey roster: Updated list of NHL stars joining Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid on 2026 team originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. For the first time since 2014, active NHL players are returning to Olympic hockey.

Over the past few days, Bill Guerin’s entire management team converged on Minnesota in the middle of a blizzard to make the final decisions on the men’s hockey roster for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.

The NHL’s return to Olympic hockey is just about six weeks away. That makes now a perfect time to take our best guess at what the 25-man roster will look like in Milan.

NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger has been covering the NHL regularly since 1999. Each Monday he will use his extensive network of hockey contacts for his weekly notes column, “Zizing 'Em Up,” to preview the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

Get to know the basics of Olympic hockey — learn how the men’s and women’s tournaments are structured, how games are scored and decided, what rules differ from the NHL, and who the top medal contenders are for Milan Cortina 2026.

We have the latest odds and roster projections to make the US Mens Olympic Hockey Team ahead of the Milan-Cortina Olympics, to be held February 6-22, 2026.

Who will make Team USA's Olympic hockey roster? The Sporting News gives its final projections ahead of the roster reveal.

Beyond Horvat and Schaefer, the only Islanders to be considered potential Olympic candidates are Swedish forwards Emil Heineman and Simon Holmstrom. Both are likely longshots, though Heineman has been impressive this season in elevating himself into a top-six role after playing in a bottom-six role as a Canadiens’ rookie last season.