This week on Wednesday Night Hockey, I’ll have the honour of revealing my final Team Canada picks alongside those of Jen Botterill, Luke Gazdic, and David Amber, and I’m about to give readers a sneak peek.
We should reward literacy in this world, so you deserve a special treat.
To be clear, these picks are MY picks, as in, who would be on the team if I were the GM, not who I think the current brass will take. That said, I can’t really see where we’ll differ, so it may work either way.
I last put together my Team Canada roster about a month ago and just a few things have changed, particularly with the forwards.
Here’s who I had for forwards in November, then we’ll get into potential changes. My previous roster:
Sam Reinhart – Sidney Crosby – Nathan MacKinnon
Macklin Celebrini – Connor McDavid – Mitch Marner
Brad Marchand – Brayden Point – Mark Scheifele
Mark Stone – Nick Suzuki – Tom Wilson
Brandon Hagel – Sam Bennett
Out: Travis Konecny, Anthony Cirelli, Seth Jarvis.
Notably absent, but as I called it “inevitably in” (based on assuming there’s even one injury): Connor Bedard
I had Bedard ranked ahead of the three names listed as “out” at the time, meaning one injury would see him in my lineup.
Funny, in the time since, I had put him firmly inside the cutoff of the 14 guys I would take, but his recent injury — combined with hearing that maybe Canada isn’t super comfortable taking both him and Celebrini — has Bedard back on the outside, just in time for me to write about it again.
I tend to agree with what I believe to be the Canadian brass’ hesitation to take both Bedard and Celebrini, regardless of how many points they have. In terms of getting points, there aren’t going to be many mistakes to take advantage of out there (nor do you want to commit them), and it’s also just not a learning tournament. It’s for the learned.
If you look at some of the underlying stats, you’ll see that Celebrini is much more inclined to bring the puck up the ice, transporting it from one end of the rink to the other. That’s spurred on by a good amount of puck touches in the D-zone, which is why you’re hearing him called a “200-foot forward” compared to Bedard, even as Celebrini isn’t exactly a defensive wizard yet himself.
Yes Bedard is putting up points, but when playing for Canada he’s just not going to get the same opportunities to do it, given the number of forwards he’d be behind in the high leverage situations, which neutralizes his superpower. And as of today, if he’s not getting points, there are other guys more effective at the other things.
Mix in this unfortunate injury that could cost the Blackhawks star a month — with no certainty on what he’ll look like when he gets back — and that’s why I’ve got him on the outside looking in. Even with that, it’s close.
In saying all that, none of this is about not taking a player, it’s about all the many reasons you are taking other guys.
Tom Wilson has gone from fringe to undeniable with his all-around play; he’s been an absolute force. And for me, Nick Suzuki has emerged from the pack of players on the fringe. He’s too valuable defensively, while sitting 20th in the league in points (37 in 33 games). He’s mature and savvy and poised in the biggest moments.
The other note is that Jon Cooper needs his blankie too, as all coaches do. They need something to hold on to for safety when things get tight, and for Coop, that blankie has always been Anthony Cirelli. Who could blame him?
Now, one note on this: Cirelli has been ice cold — like, ice, ice cold offensively of late (just one point in his last 10 games). For just about any other player, that might be enough to play their way off the team. But that’s just not what Cirelli does. He made the 4 Nations team as a guy who’s never hit 60 points, so I don’t think they care much about that.
Cirelli’s just a proven winner — Memorial Cup, Stanley Cup, and everything in between — and I think they’ll want him there. You need guys you can trust, and so it makes sense to me, too.
Without further ado, my forwards for Milan in 2026:
Sam Reinhart – Sidney Crosby – Nathan MacKinnon
Macklin Celebrini – Connor McDavid – Brandon Hagel
Mark Stone – Brayden Point – Mitch Marner
Brad Marchand – Anthony Cirelli – Tom Wilson
Sam Bennett, Nick Suzuki
Next up, in order: Connor Bedard, Seth Jarvis, Wyatt Johnston, Mark Scheifele, Bo Horvat, Morgan Geekie, John Tavares, Travis Konecny
I think the average fan will have Bedard on their roster, but I don’t think he’ll get named to the official group (he may get named an “alternate” in case of injury). I could see any of Jarvis, Johnston, or Scheifele making it too. Any other names would shock me.
Now, my take on the defence is extremely boring: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And buddy, it ain’t broke.
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche
Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets
Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers
Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues
Thomas Harley, Dallas Stars
Which other Canadian defender do you have to put on, and at the cost of whom?
Matthew Schaefer is undeniably the most fun pick in that conversation, and a guy who’s going to represent Canada for years to come, though I stand by my “It’s not a tournament for learning” point from above. He’s not going to be bad at the World Cup in two years because he didn’t make this team at 18. (Reminder: He turned 18 just a few months ago.)
And as of now, he still has some cleaning up to do in his game (of course! He’s only played 34 NHL games!), just getting bigger and stronger and harder to get inside on. When building this team, you’re thinking almost exclusively about defending against the best countries, as all of Makar, Toews, Morrissey, Theodore, Doughty, and Harley can protect the house while moving the puck up the ice, and a couple can run a power play.
I am Team Schaefer all the way. It’s just a huge ask halfway through his first NHL season to be on the Canadian Olympic roster.
From there, maybe you like Jakob Chychrun. I do too! But again, this is a matter of roles and how you’ll deploy guys, and without the offensive opportunities for Chychrun, I’m not sure the rest of his game is enough to bump off any of the established names. So, I’m not sure who you leave off for him.
And so, I’m keeping it the same.
Finally, goalies haven’t changed for me either.
Logan Thompson is Canada’s No. 1 goalie with a bullet, no arguments allowed. Jordan Binnington has pushed the limits of “How bad could a guy play and still make the team based purely on his history” this season, but he’s shown himself to have the cojones when it counts. And last, Darcy Kuemper is a proven, steady NHL pro who has played in huge games – winning a Stanley Cup — and shown he can make the saves you need him to make. You don’t need anyone to be spectacular because the rest of the team is. You just need him to be reliable.
And so, my complete team:
Sam Reinhart – Sidney Crosby – Nathan MacKinnon
Macklin Celebrini – Connor McDavid – Brandon Hagel
Mark Stone – Brayden Point – Mitch Marner
Brad Marchand – Anthony Cirelli – Tom Wilson
Sam Bennett, Nick Suzuki
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Josh Morrissey – Colton Parayko
Shea Theodore – Drew Doughty
Travis Sanheim – Thomas Harley
Logan Thompson
Jordan Binnington
Darcy Kuemper
What makes me feel best about this roster, is that it feels boring. We’re not trying to make something happen that isn’t there by overthinking it. There’s no talking yourself into anything. It just makes sense.
Bedard not being on this team is the only part that bothers me. I wish he was healthy and lighting it up, which would complicate things. With an injury to someone else, this concern may not even matter.
But for now, fully healthy, this is a pretty darn good group to send in pursuit of our first gold medal since 2014. It’s been a long time coming, but Canada’s sending a team that’s past a contender, and probably the favourite.
