May 16, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (29) skates in warm up prior to game five of the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images Eight of the 12 nations competing in the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics released their initial lists of participants early Monday.
The preliminary rosters are stuffed with NHL players except for the team from Italy, which has a spot in the Games as the host nation. Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo are the host cities.
This will be the first appearance of NHL players in the Olympics since they were held in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.
A disagreement between the NHL and the IIHF kept the NHL players out of the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and they didn’t play in Beijing in 2022 because of COVID-related scheduling issues.
Preliminary games will begin in the Olympics on Feb. 11, with the gold-medal game scheduled to be played Feb. 22. Finland is the defending champion.
The remaining countries — Canada, Denmark, France and the United States — are set to announce their selections later Monday.
CZECHIA
Lukas Dostal, G, Anaheim Ducks
Radko Gudas, D, Anaheim Ducks
Martin Necas, F, Colorado Avalanche
Ondrej Palat, F, New Jersey Devils
David Pastrnak, F, Boston Bruins
Pavel Zacha, F, Boston Bruins
FINLAND
Sebastian Aho, F, Carolina Hurricanes
Aleksander Barkov, F, Florida Panthers
Miro Heiskanen, D, Dallas Stars
Esa Lindell, D, Dallas Stars
Mikko Rantanen, F, Dallas Stars
Juuse Saros, G, Nashville Predators
GERMANY
Leon Draisaitl, F, Edmonton Oilers
Philipp Grubauer, G, Seattle Kraken
Lukas Reichel, F, Chicago Blackhawks
Moritz Seider, D, Detroit Red Wings
Nico Sturm, F, Florida Panthers
Tim Stutzle, F, Ottawa Senators
ITALY
Diego Kostner, F
Daniel Mantenuto, F
Tommy Purdeller, F
Thomas Larkin, D
Luca Zanatta, D
Damian Clara, G, Anaheim Ducks
LATVIA
Rodrigo Abols, F, Philadelphia Flyers
Uvis Balinskis, D, Florida Panthers
Teddy Blueger, F, Vancouver Canucks
Zemgus Girgensons, F, Tampa Bay Lightning
Elvis Merzlikins, G, Columbus Blue Jackets
Arturs Silovs, G, Vancouver Canucks
SLOVAKIA
Erik Cernak, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
Martin Fehervary, D, Washington Capitals
Simon Nemec, D, New Jersey Devils
Martin Pospisil, F, Calgary Flames
Juraj Slafkovsky, F, Montreal Canadians
Tomas Tatar, F
SWEDEN
Rasmus Dahlin, D, Buffalo Sabres
Victor Hedman, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
Adrian Kempe, F, Los Angeles Kings
Gabriel Landeskog, F, Colorado Avalanche
William Nylander, F, Toronto Maple Leafs
Lucas Raymond, F, Detroit Red Wings
SWITZERLAND
Kevin Fiala, F, Los Angeles Kings
Nico Hischier, F, New Jersey Devils
Roman Josi, D, Nashville Predators
Timo Meier, F, New Jersey Devils
Nino Niederreiter, F, Winnipeg Jets
Jonas Siegenthaler, D, New Jersey Devils
–Field Level Media
