The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics are in full swing and have been full of quite a lot of fantastic moments in sports so far. The arrival of these Olympics also means one step closer to the 2026 Winter Olympics that will be taking place in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, referred to as Milano Cortina 2026.
The 2026 Games will mark the first time since 2014 that NHL players will be participating. The NHL previously stopped allowing NHL players to participate in the Olympics in 2018 due to the interruption it brought to the NHL season. They didn’t participate again in 2022 in part due to COVID-19 restrictions and complications.
Many players have expressed excitement to be returning to compete on the worldwide stage for their nations, and it will be the first time that many of the young superstars that have come into the league since 2014 will have the opportunity to truly compete in an international tournament featuring the best of the best. Many of the top NHL talents opt out of the yearly IIHF World Championship due to either still participating in the NHL postseason or recovering from the long regular season.
The Bruins, like all NHL teams, feature a multitude of nations on their roster. While Milano Cortina is a year and a half away and a lot can change between now and then, there are several Bruins who should be expected to suit up for their home countries at the Olympics.
David Pastrnak & Pavel Zacha, Czechia
The one bright side to the Bruins’ second round exit from the playoffs this past season is that both David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha were able to be late additions to Team Czechia, helping their national team win the World Championship at home. Pastrnak had the game-winner in the team’s 2-0 victory in the championship game against Switzerland.
Barring injuries, both will be pretty automatic shoo-ins to make the team. Pastrnak and Zacha will be 29 and 28 respectively when the games take place in February, and will still be in the primes of their career. They will be great additions to the team and would be fun for Bruins fans to see them playing together in the Olympics.
Czechia will be a sneaky team to watch in the tournament. They finished sixth in 2014 when NHL players were last involved, but the depth in the country has come a long way since then, especially at the NHL level. They will be an interesting one to watch at the Olympics.
Elias Lindholm, Sweden
One of the newest members of the Bruins, center Elias Lindholm, is expected to be part of the Swedish Olympic roster for Milano Cortina, and will be a dangerous competitor in the tournament given the depth Sweden has at both forward and the blue line.
Lindholm, who is the Bruins’ new top center on the depth chart, would be three or four on a projected roster for Team Sweden behind former Vancouver Canucks teammate, Elias Pettersson, and Mika Zibanejad from the New York Rangers. Depending on how some of the young Swedish talent develops in the next year or two, this team could be a real threat for the gold medal.
Sweden won the silver medal back in 2014, and the talent has only continued to grow since then. With former Bruin and 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark projected to be in net, Team Sweden could be coming for the gold in 2026.
Charlie McAvoy & Jeremy Swayman, United States
Since coming into the league in 2017, Charlie McAvoy has cemented himself as a top US defenseman. He is a shoo-in to make Team USA, along with a number of guys he’s played with before. Team USA is projected to be fairly young. McAvoy was part of gold medal-winning teams at the 2015 U18 World Championship and 2017 World Juniors, playing on both teams with Clayton Keller and Tage Thompson. Both are projected to also make the US 2026 Olympic team.
Jeremy Swayman does not have as much international experience as McAvoy, but is still an obvious choice for the United States’ roster for Milano Cortina 2026, particularly after this past postseason. He and Connor Hellebuyck are one and two on the goaltending depth chart for Team USA and the real debate will be surrounding who the third goaltender ends up being.
Not only will both players almost certainly make Team USA, but they also have the potential to be real impact players in the Olympic tournament. Swayman proved this past postseason just how essential he can be to a team when he is locked in and could easily win the starting goaltender position. McAvoy plays monster minutes for the Bruins, so expect that to transfer to Team USA. Along with Sweden and Canada, they will certainly be in the mix for the gold medal.
Brad Marchand, Canada
This is the one that will be the most up in the air and will depend a lot on how the next season goes for Brad Marchand. The Bruins captain is still a top-end NHL player, but he’s dropped off a little bit in points in the last two seasons. On any other country, it wouldn’t matter but with the depth of Team Canada, there will be some heartbreaking decisions and top-end talent will be left off the team.
Still, I believe Marchand is a guy who should make the roster for Canada. He was one of the final cuts for the 2014 roster, and considering he’s never played in the Olympics, he is going to be raring to go when it comes to making this roster. He is the kind of player that rises to the occasion and is the type of nuisance that will get under a team’s skin in a tournament setting.
He will be 37 by the time the games roll around, and should still have enough left in the tank to make the roster along with several other notable, older Canadian players who will want one more shot at the Olympics. While Canada’s Olympic roster will most likely be headlined by the young superstars, don’t count out how dangerous a potential Marchand and Crosby second or third line could be.
Best-on-Best Tournament
Milano Cortina 2026 will see the return of the best hockey players in the world competing for their home countries. Prior to the Olympics though, there will be a mini international hockey tournament in 2025 called the 4 Nations Face-Off. Now, this will only include four countries: Finland, Sweden, Canada, and the United States. It will not be on the same level as the Olympics, but will give a good preview of how these Olympic rosters may end up stacking up against each other.
When 2026 rolls around, Canada will most likely be the favorite, but the cool thing about the Olympics is that really anything could happen. Do not count out the United States, Sweden, Finland, or Czechia. One or two players hitting their stride at just the right time or a goaltender getting hot can make all the difference and all of these teams have guys who have the potential to do just that.
