Let the debates rage and the anticipation spike.
Canada’s Olympic men’s roster is here. And the biggest surprises and “snubs” will naturally be found upfront, where the competition is stiffest.
Five of the top 14 Canadian scoring forwards this season — plus five champions from the country’s 4 Nations roster — failed to make the cut as the decision-makers waited to finalize the 25 until the last couple of days.
“We believe this is the best team we could select,” general manager Doug Armstrong said Wednesday, making the announcement from the world junior tournament in Minnesota.
“We’re not building this team to beat any one team. We want to build a roster that can compete against anybody.”
In early December, Canada’s management met to drill down on selections and walked out of those deliberations with a consensus on 12 forwards, seven defencemen, and two goaltenders. (Yes, 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini’s name was etched in pen by that point.)
Armstrong then met with Jon Cooper to round out the picks, picking the head coach’s brain on what the holes he needed filling with regards to special teams and injury replacements.
Canada also has a short standby list, ordered according to the style of player, should injury befall anyone on the roster prior to February’s torch lighting.
Let’s peek at some of the more interesting selections.
Forwards
Out go Travis Konency, Seth Jarvis, and — most surprisingly — Sam Bennett, a two-time defending Cup champ, the reigning Conn Smythe winner, and a star of the 4 Nations gold medal game.
(One couldn’t help but think Armstrong had Bennett’s zest for sticking it to Team USA in mind when he said: “It’s a very dangerous and slippery slope when you do something just for one opponent and you never face them.”)
In come Celebrini, Nick Suzuki, and Bo Horvat.
Each one is a defensively diligent, two-way centreman willing to play the wing.
“The pressure that goes into playing in Canada is one level. The pressure playing in Montreal is a different level. Then the pressure being the captain of the Montreal Canadians is at a different level,” Armstrong said of Suzuki. “What impresses me about Nick is his ability to compartmentalize all that and still be a top player every night. We love his versatility.”
Several worthy candidates — Mark Scheifele, Wyatt Johnston, Morgan Geekie, Zach Hyman — will instead be granted a midwinter holiday.
Connor Bedard, too, had built a sturdy case of his own before suffering a shoulder injury earlier this month, but Armstrong said the Blackhawks star’s health was not a major factor.
“His name was right there to the last second, because we could’ve named him and then move forward,” Armstrong said. “The reality is, there’s so many good players, and we just had difficult decisions to make.”
Defencemen
In consult with defence coach Peter DeBoer, Armstrong is bringing back the entire D-corps that captured gold at 4 Nations.
That means sniper Jakob Chychrun, power-play monster Evan Bouchard, and Calder favourite Matthew Schaefer will need to wait until 2030.
It also means veteran Drew Doughty gets to go for a third Olympic gold medal.
Doughty’s reaction to making the squad?
“R-rated,” Armstrong smiled. “He’s fired up.
“His passion, it wears on his sleeve — and that’s infectious to everybody.”
If changes were made, Colton Parayko and Travis Sanheim were likely the ones in danger. The architects love their size.
“Parayko and Sanheim, we call it going through a carwash. They’re all arms and legs. It’s hard to get to the net,” Armstrong said.
“It’s like swimming in seaweed. I love those big players.”
Goaltenders
A legitimate case could be made for both of Colorado’s goaltenders, Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood, but Hockey Canada isn’t here for your recency bias.
Stanley Cup and 4 Nations champion Jordan Binnington was always a lock — his dismal .870 save percentage and 7-9-6 record in 2025-26 be damned.
“His name never came up as a question mark,” Armstrong said.
“We look at their recent play, and we look at their résumé. And Jordan Binnington’s résumé speaks for itself — what he did at the 4 Nations, what he’s done in the NHL. His statistical numbers aren’t to where he would like them to be this year. And working for the St. Louis Blues, I would agree. But also, I don’t think the St. Louis Blues have put a product in front of him that we should be proud of. And so, he’s a byproduct of how we play on some nights.”
Logan Thompson was an easy choice based on his stellar numbers since joining the Washington Capitals (46-16-9, .912), and the combination of a recent cup win (2022) and a sparkling recent save rate (.917) gave L.A.’s Darcy Kuemper the edge as third goalie.
