New Faces Added as Team Canada Officially Announces Its Olympic Roster

Team Canada made its 25-man roster announcement on Wednesday afternoon, bringing some answers to questions that have surrounded the team for months.

On the team were several expected forwards and defensemen. The big questions were in goal. Would the questionable play of the projected starters be overlooked?

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Hockey Canada formally turned its focus to the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, announcing Doug Armstrong as executive director of the men’s national team. Armstrong was praised for his leadership at the recent Four Nations and for guiding the program back to the Olympics. Officials emphasized the depth, competitiveness, and commitment of Canada’s player pool, while Armstrong thanked Hockey Canada’s board, staff, and families for their support as preparations continue toward February in Italy.

When asked about the arena itself, they are taking steps to ensure there are backup plans in place, should they be needed. They fully expect the arena to be built and ready.

The Official Team Canada Roster

Jordan Binnington did make the team in goal, as did Darcy Keumper. Logan Thompson was the final selection in net.

On defense, the team went with Drew Doughty, Thomas Harley, Cale Makar, Josh Morrisey, Colton Parayko, Travis Sanheim, Shea Theodore, and Devon Toews.

At forward, Macklin Celebrini, Anthony Cirelli, Sidney Crosby, Bradon Hagel, Bo Horvat, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, Mitch Marner, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point, Sam Reinhart, Mark Stone, Nick Suzuki, and Tom Wilson.

When asked, Armstrong said that Celebrini had already played his way onto Team Canada by early December. Some of the selections came down to picking the best team, and they’ve focused, in many cases, on specific areas such as penalty killing.

Comments On the Players Who Didn’t Make The Team

Armstrong said players under consideration as injury replacements will have the choice to stay in the testing program. They must continue to do so if they wish to be added. He noted that no players played their way off the team, but the group had to narrow it down to 25.

When it came to the goaltending, Armstrong said there were several players on their list of consideration. But that group was extensive. “We believe that the three that we named during that right, and we told the others to stay prepared, and you never know what happened with injuries…” He added, “It’ll be a tough decision if one guy goes down because there are some guys playing really good hockey right now.”

When asked about Matthew Schaefer, Armstrong said that the rookie wasn’t on his radar early, but worked his way into the conversation throughout the season. “I was shocked at how quickly he worked his way into our conversations.”

Dropped from the Four Nations team for the 2026 Olympic roster: Sam Bennett, Travis Konecny, Seth Jarvis, Adin Hill, and Samuel Montembeault.

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