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Olympics: Team Canada 2026

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wetcoast said:
I have no problem leaving Marchand and even Stone off the 2026 team but Reinhart deserves to be there even if he isn't the most fleet of foot out there.
Click to expand...
I feel like if Marchand makes the team next year it'll be on the taxi squad. There's better options at this point and he'll be a year older.
 
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The same management team and coaching staff will be selecting/coaching the 2026 Olympic team, as the current 4 Nations Cup team. Do we really think that group will take a significantly different approach to building out next year's team?

Point - McDavid - Stone
Crosby - MacKinnon - Reinhart
Hagel - Cirelli - Marner
Marchand - Bennett - Konecny
Jarvis

Toews - Makar
Morrissey - Parayko
Sanheim - Doughty
Harley

Injured: Theodore, Pietrangelo

Bolded players above are the players I have as absolute locks to make the 2026 team (barring injury of course). My presumption is that we'll take 25 players to the Olympics in Italy.

Up front, I think they'll move on from Marchand. He found himself a good role on this year's team and is playing as well as (maybe better than?) expected, but he's looking slow and at his age that speed will not improve.

Bennett has been really good, but in an Olympic context with IIHF rules and refereeing, I think the risk of having Bennett out there, playing the rugged game that he excels at, outweights the rewards. It might be a different story if he got slotted-in in the top-6, but he hasn't, so I think this is a one-time deal with Bennett at the best-on-best level.

Stone has played well at the 4 Nations, but alongside McDavid and Point his skating deficiencies are very glaring. However, he is such a smart player and able to contribute in so many ways, that I can't see him not be selected unless there is further deterioration in his skating or accumulated injury risk. I'd say there is a 75%+ chance of him cracking next year's squad.

Jarvis has showed pretty well in limited ice time, and is obviously a player that the brain trust has their eyes on given they selected him for this year's tournament. So same as Stone - 75%+ chance Jarvis makes it.

I'm a big fan of Konecny, going back to his days with the 67s, but I think he's looked a little overwhelmed at this calibre of competition. On paper he's an ideal bottom-6 forward for us - great motor, good speed, plays an in-your-face game and can contribute at ES, but with the team's struggles in scoring goals I can see him be replaced in 2026 by someone with a little more offensive upside. He also plays a position (RW) that we're fairly deep at. I'd say there's a 50% chance he makes it in 2026.

Cirelli is certainly a whipping boy on this year's team, but obviously has the trust of Cooper and is basically doing what he's been asked to do. I don't personally think he's skilled enough to compete at the best-on-best level, but does fill a niche and is a proven winner all the way up from junior. I can't help but wonder whether Thomas would have been selected for that #4C if he entered the season healthy and had more runway before the selections were made. Regardless, Thomas is a much better producer, you lose little in the way of defense relative to Cirelli, Thomas is much better on the faceoff dot, and Cirelli's puck-hounding skills can be covered by others. I'd say there's a 25% chance he's back in 2026.

Who's in? Thomas, for one. He can grab that #4C spot for all the reasons described above. Second, Scheifele is an interesting case as the 4 Nations management group and coaching staff passed on him, and honestly there was a lot to like about his start to the season. Perhaps the feeling is that he's not good enough defensively to play in the bottom-6, nor is he good enough to out-compete McDavid or MacKinnon for those top-6 centre positions. If the same approach to constructing this year's team is followed, he may find himself on the outside looking in again. Another factor is Crosby - is he going to slot-in on the wing next to MacKinnon again next year, or centre his own line? Crosby moving to the wing does open up a centre position, and here's hoping some lessons are learned about adding more scoring touch to the lineup. Why not slot Scheifele in at #3C and give him some defensively-conscious wingers to balance out the line?

With those obvious selections, we're looking a little short on LHS. This is where I'd like to see Fantilli and/or Celebrini take a leap in their game and nail-down a roster spot. Fantilli in particular is a player who checks a lot of boxes - big, strong, fast, and skilled - in the mold of a Patrick Marleau or Jeff Carter who were both very successful at the Olympics. Maybe he's a reach, but the package is enticing. With respect to Celebrini, I think he'll be ready by next year, even if its in a depth/spare forward role. Finally, Johnston is another young player who got off to a slow start, probably torpedoing his chances of making this team. He's picked it up since then, and if he continues with another strong playoff and start to next season I can't see him be left off.

Some other guys I considered upfront were Fantilli, Guenther, Vilardi (goal scoring from the wing position), Byfield (size, speed, strength on the wing), Lafreniere (needs a big bounce-back year, but probably not in the cards), Suzuki (needs to go to the World Championships)

Out:
Marchand
Bennett
Cirelli

In:
Thomas
Schiefele
Celebrini
Johnston

Point - McDavid - Stone
Crosby - MacKinnon - Reinhart
Hagel - Scheifele - Marner
Konecny - Thomas - Jarvis
Celebrini, Johnston

I think the defense is fairly straight-forward honestly.

Toews + Makar return as a pairing. Theodore + Pietrangelo return as a pairing. Morrissey returns. Maybe they're not exactly locks, but Harley and Sanheim likely return as well. Doughty likely ages out, after one of Canada's best international hockey careers. No real need for Parayko provided Pietrangelo is healthy. Final spot needs to go to a RHS, and that should be Weegar or Dobson.

Out:
Doughty
Parayko

In:
Weegar

Toews - Makar
Theodore - Pietrangelo
Morrissey - Weegar
Sanheim, Harley
 
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Perhaps I should wait until the last game of the four nations event but I think that most players have helped their chances of making the Olympic team, or at least haven't made them worse. Cirelli looks like he doesn't belong and Marchad doesn't look like he should be there in a year. Other than that, no one looks like an obvious omission to me. You'd hope that there is a much better option than Binnington as well. This isn't to say that many players have turned themselves into locks either.
 
In 2026, leave Cirelli and Marchand home. Bring in 2 better goalies - Logan Thompson + one other. The rest of the team looks very good.

Let's hope Sid still has one more tournament under his belt.

BigDaddyLurch said:
...I know I'm in the minority, but I don't see much value in having Parako play, or even on the team...
Click to expand...
Why? I love the kid.

Why will NO one give the kid a "y"? :(
 
BigDaddyLurch said:
...he hasn't been good, imo...he can't carry or even pass the puck well, just flip it away like it's a live grenade...he's slow as Hell and I personally think he has been a disappointment defensively...he's got SIZE...that's really been it, imo...
Click to expand...
I like him. I always have.
 
It’s a 100% guarantee that Marchand/Cirelli (among a few others) won’t be there next year. Marchand is on the obvious downslope and Cirelli showed he’s not the 2004 WCoH Kris Draper they wished for. There is seriously no reason to “worry” about them being on the Olympic team.
 
Hyman - McDavid (C) - Scheifele
Point - MacKinnon (A) - Stone
Marner - Crosby (A) - Konecny
Vilardi - Suzuki - Hagel
Bedard

Makar - Toews
Morrissey - Theodore
Weegar - Harley
Chychrun

Thompson
Hill
Blackwood
 
NordiquesForeva said:
The same management team and coaching staff will be selecting/coaching the 2026 Olympic team, as the current 4 Nations Cup team. Do we really think that group will take a significantly different approach to building out next year's team?

Point - McDavid - Stone
Crosby - MacKinnon - Reinhart
Hagel - Cirelli - Marner
Marchand - Bennett - Konecny
Jarvis

Toews - Makar
Morrissey - Parayko
Sanheim - Doughty
Harley

Injured: Theodore, Pietrangelo

Bolded players above are the players I have as absolute locks to make the 2026 team (barring injury of course). My presumption is that we'll take 25 players to the Olympics in Italy.

Up front, I think they'll move on from Marchand. He found himself a good role on this year's team and is playing as well as (maybe better than?) expected, but he's looking slow and at his age that speed will not improve.

Bennett has been really good, but in an Olympic context with IIHF rules and refereeing, I think the risk of having Bennett out there, playing the rugged game that he excels at, outweights the rewards. It might be a different story if he got slotted-in in the top-6, but he hasn't, so I think this is a one-time deal with Bennett at the best-on-best level.

Stone has played well at the 4 Nations, but alongside McDavid and Point his skating deficiencies are very glaring. However, he is such a smart player and able to contribute in so many ways, that I can't see him not be selected unless there is further deterioration in his skating or accumulated injury risk. I'd say there is a 75%+ chance of him cracking next year's squad.

Jarvis has showed pretty well in limited ice time, and is obviously a player that the brain trust has their eyes on given they selected him for this year's tournament. So same as Stone - 75%+ chance Jarvis makes it.

I'm a big fan of Konecny, going back to his days with the 67s, but I think he's looked a little overwhelmed at this calibre of competition. On paper he's an ideal bottom-6 forward for us - great motor, good speed, plays an in-your-face game and can contribute at ES, but with the team's struggles in scoring goals I can see him be replaced in 2026 by someone with a little more offensive upside. He also plays a position (RW) that we're fairly deep at. I'd say there's a 50% chance he makes it in 2026.

Cirelli is certainly a whipping boy on this year's team, but obviously has the trust of Cooper and is basically doing what he's been asked to do. I don't personally think he's skilled enough to compete at the best-on-best level, but does fill a niche and is a proven winner all the way up from junior. I can't help but wonder whether Thomas would have been selected for that #4C if he entered the season healthy and had more runway before the selections were made. Regardless, Thomas is a much better producer, you lose little in the way of defense relative to Cirelli, Thomas is much better on the faceoff dot, and Cirelli's puck-hounding skills can be covered by others. I'd say there's a 25% chance he's back in 2026.

Who's in? Thomas, for one. He can grab that #4C spot for all the reasons described above. Second, Scheifele is an interesting case as the 4 Nations management group and coaching staff passed on him, and honestly there was a lot to like about his start to the season. Perhaps the feeling is that he's not good enough defensively to play in the bottom-6, nor is he good enough to out-compete McDavid or MacKinnon for those top-6 centre positions. If the same approach to constructing this year's team is followed, he may find himself on the outside looking in again. Another factor is Crosby - is he going to slot-in on the wing next to MacKinnon again next year, or centre his own line? Crosby moving to the wing does open up a centre position, and here's hoping some lessons are learned about adding more scoring touch to the lineup. Why not slot Scheifele in at #3C and give him some defensively-conscious wingers to balance out the line?

With those obvious selections, we're looking a little short on LHS. This is where I'd like to see Fantilli and/or Celebrini take a leap in their game and nail-down a roster spot. Fantilli in particular is a player who checks a lot of boxes - big, strong, fast, and skilled - in the mold of a Patrick Marleau or Jeff Carter who were both very successful at the Olympics. Maybe he's a reach, but the package is enticing. With respect to Celebrini, I think he'll be ready by next year, even if its in a depth/spare forward role. Finally, Johnston is another young player who got off to a slow start, probably torpedoing his chances of making this team. He's picked it up since then, and if he continues with another strong playoff and start to next season I can't see him be left off.

Some other guys I considered upfront were Fantilli, Guenther, Vilardi (goal scoring from the wing position), Byfield (size, speed, strength on the wing), Lafreniere (needs a big bounce-back year, but probably not in the cards), Suzuki (needs to go to the World Championships)

Out:
Marchand
Bennett
Cirelli

In:
Thomas
Schiefele
Celebrini
Johnston

Point - McDavid - Stone
Crosby - MacKinnon - Reinhart
Hagel - Scheifele - Marner
Konecny - Thomas - Jarvis
Celebrini, Johnston

I think the defense is fairly straight-forward honestly.

Toews + Makar return as a pairing. Theodore + Pietrangelo return as a pairing. Morrissey returns. Maybe they're not exactly locks, but Harley and Sanheim likely return as well. Doughty likely ages out, after one of Canada's best international hockey careers. No real need for Parayko provided Pietrangelo is healthy. Final spot needs to go to a RHS, and that should be Weegar or Dobson.

Out:
Doughty
Parayko

In:
Weegar

Toews - Makar
Theodore - Pietrangelo
Morrissey - Weegar
Sanheim, Harley
Click to expand...
DD and AP went in the same 2008 draft. DD is several months older with a late birthday.
But, for the 2026 games, Ideally the bulk of the club is made up of 2010-2020 draftees. Range of age from a young of 23 to upwards of 33/34.

Canada has been lacking in both goalies and Dmen. Some inconsistent play defensively for the Dman whom you had hopes for like Dobson, Bouchard, Byram as well. Team Canada was anchored mainly by the 2003 and 2008 drafts on D with Weber, Seabrook, Burns along with Doughty, Pietroangelo during the 201X tournaments.

Right now, it's what 2017 Makar, 2013 for Theodore/Morrissey/Sanheim. Harley from 2019. Toews was draft eligible in 2012, but was drafted in 2014 at age 20. Weeager draft eligible in 2012, but went in 2013 at 19. AP from 2008. See who steps up. Think we see more guys commit to the WC this May.

I assume in Italy it's on the 100 foot wide ice? So the smaller forwards probably not as big a deal. If it is the hybrid ice at 93 feet wide, then I'd look to add a bigger body forward.
 
ORRFForever said:
I think they'd make a change. Give the C to McDavid and an A to Sid.
Click to expand...
Maybe. I just don’t see how or why they don’t give it to the longest tenured player who is still a top player in the game and has more championships than anyone else on the team. The same player that was unanimously chosen by his Canadian peers to captain this team at the 4 nations.
 
Avsfan1921 said:
Maybe. I just don’t see how or why they don’t give it to the longest tenured player who is still a top player in the game and has more championships than anyone else on the team. The same player that was unanimously chosen by his Canadian peers to captain this team at the 4 nations.
Click to expand...
I would just see it as a passing of the torch - which Sid is still there to guide.
 
You don’t put Hyman on this team. He finds success with McDavid not due to some chemistry a la McDavid + Draisaitl magic. He finds success because he’s good around the net. With the puck he is atrocious and is the cause of a lot of my frustrations with the Oilers (I’m an Oilers fan).

Stone and Point are both much better options than Hyman. Love seeing them both go to the net hard in this tournament AND shore up the areas wingers like RNH and Hyman utterly falter in back in Edmonton. For example seeing Stone collect pucks up off the wall in the defensive end and make a clean pass to McDavid in stride to break out is a rarity back in Edmonton. I posted on the Oilers board that I’ve seen 97 get to skate the puck up the ice in full stride more at this tournament than he has got to all year in Edmonton. Stone and Point are big reasons for that.

In contrast, Marner and Reinhart completely failed in this regard. Reinhart playing well with guys who do their own crash and banging in the last game…but he is a perimeter guy who I don’t necessarily think has a spot in an ideal lineup. Marner and him are fine in very limited roles IN PLACE OF the Cirelli/Konecny/Jarvis guys…you don’t want to be bringing them all.

Crosby-McDavid-Point
Stone-MacKinnon-Scheifele

I think you run a top 6 that has all players going hard. Burning with speed, crashing the net, not afraid to bring it to the paint. This is Canadian hockey as it should be played and this tournament has done a wonderful job illustrating who can and can’t hang in best on best. Willing to move Stone off there if he’s struggling with another player who will play psycho hockey.

Bedard-Celebrini-Marner

That’s a line I would bring to the table to play limited minutes. Young high end skill that may flourish or falter. You bench guys at the Olympics and your players like 97 and 29 can double shift and there’s no issue running 2.5-3 lines in those tournaments. They’re good to go. Bring these kids and see what they have. Sit the kids and bring in your Swiss Army knife players (which we have an endless amount of at this tournament for example) if they aren’t getting it done offensively early on in the tournament.

Bennett-Konecny-Suzuki

I’m a huge fan of Bennett but again, we’re getting to the minute details here and any of 10 players would adequately slot into that spot. He’s my choice though.

Extra options:

Hagel
Johnston
Reinhart
Holloway
Jarvis

Crosby-McDavid-Point
Stone-MacKinnon-Scheifele
Bedard-Celebrini-Marner
Bennett-Konecny-Suzuki
 
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whatkubabine said:
You don’t put Hyman on this team. He finds success with McDavid not due to some chemistry a la McDavid + Draisaitl magic. He finds success because he’s good around the net. With the puck he is atrocious and is the cause of a lot of my frustrations with the Oilers (I’m an Oilers fan).

Stone and Point are both much better options than Hyman. Love seeing them both go to the net hard in this tournament AND shore up the areas wingers like RNH and Hyman utterly falter in back in Edmonton. For example seeing Stone collect pucks up off the wall in the defensive end and make a clean pass to McDavid in stride to break out is a rarity back in Edmonton. I posted on the Oilers board that I’ve seen 97 get to skate the puck up the ice in full stride more at this tournament than he has got to all year in Edmonton. Stone and Point are big reasons for that.

In contrast, Marner and Reinhart completely failed in this regard. Reinhart playing well with guys who do their own crash and banging in the last game…but he is a perimeter guy who I don’t necessarily think has a spot in an ideal lineup. Marner and him are fine in very limited roles IN PLACE OF the Cirelli/Konecny/Jarvis guys…you don’t want to be bringing them all.

Crosby-McDavid-Point
Stone-MacKinnon-Scheifele

I think you run a top 6 that has all players going hard. Burning with speed, crashing the net, not afraid to bring it to the paint. This is Canadian hockey as it should be played and this tournament has done a wonderful job illustrating who can and can’t hang in best on best. Willing to move Stone off there if he’s struggling with another player who will play psycho hockey.

Bedard-Celebrini-Marner

That’s a line I would bring to the table to play limited minutes. Young high end skill that may flourish or falter. You bench guys at the Olympics and your players like 97 and 29 can double shift and there’s no issue running 2.5-3 lines in those tournaments. They’re good to go. Bring these kids and see what they have. Sit the kids and bring in your Swiss Army knife players (which we have an endless amount of at this tournament for example) if they aren’t getting it done offensively early on in the tournament.

Bennett-Konecny-Suzuki

I’m a huge fan of Bennett but again, we’re getting to the minute details here and any of 10 players would adequately slot into that spot. He’s my choice though.

Extra options:

Hagel
Johnston
Reinhart
Holloway
Jarvis

Crosby-McDavid-Point
Stone-MacKinnon-Scheifele
Bedard-Celebrini-Marner
Bennett-Konecny-Suzuki
Click to expand...
Too early for Bedard and Celebrini. Other than that, well done.
 
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