Boonk
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Seeing them on the ice together wearing the jersey was so fkin awesome, I hope we see this in Italy next year.
Olympics: Team Canada 2026
- Thread starter waitin425
- Start date
JackSlater
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I wouldn't be against it. If he's healthy, and he obviously wasn't at the four nations, Crosby is still Canada's third best centre. I'd love to run McDavid, MacKinnon, and Crosby down the middle (probably Thomas as 4C) and leave teams winded as Canada rolls lines all game. Celebrini can make the game easier for Crosby in terms of transitions and some of the board work, plus they seem to have compatible games so far.
ORRFForever
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1) He just scored. He also has an assist in today's game.
2) No one is leaving him off. Everyone I've seen has him on the roster.
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JackSlater
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What Sidney Crosby playing at Worlds means to Canada: ‘It’s so huge’
Cooper is heading over to Sweden this week and plans to "debrief" with the four nations players on the world championship team, namely Crosby, MacKinnon, Binnington, Konecny, and Sanheim. Good thing to see, the more information the better.
Cooper is heading over to Sweden this week and plans to "debrief" with the four nations players on the world championship team, namely Crosby, MacKinnon, Binnington, Konecny, and Sanheim. Good thing to see, the more information the better.
Nhl refs has been a thing since it's become a tournament with nhl players, all that means is there is less just touch a guy and you get a penalty penalties. But everything outside of game management is still iihf/olympic rules. And any kind of antics like what happened at the 4 nations will be met with suspensions.
Mathieukferland
Registered User
Have seen enough of the worlds, last half of the regular season and playoffs to make my last mock of the season:
25 14F-8D-3G
Celebrini-Crosby-MacKinnon
These three have been magic together at the worlds. Celebrini’s off puck play and elite ability to win contested puck battles is what earns him a spot on this team. MacKinnon and Crosby are the best players in the world, and provide a formidable strike force on the first line that no other country can match.
Marner(RH)-McDavid-Point
The line that won the four nations for Canada in overtime, Marner and McDavid looked more in sync in the final with willingness of Brayden Point to get to the difficult to get to areas on the ice versus Sam Reinhart’s relative perimeter play earlier in the tournament. Marner and Point can also form PK1
Suzuki(RH)-Thomas-Johnston
Elite matchup/puck possession line. 4 nations offensive black holes Cirelli and Hagel are jettisoned for Thomas and Johnston, who have proved their worth at both ends of the ice in the end of the season playoff races and in their respective series against Winnipeg. The divisive Suzuki is rewarded for being a 200ft catalyst that carried Montréal to a playoff spot. Canada’s bottom 6 at the four nations only factored in on 2 of 14 goals, and these three redress that lack of scoring depth. Thomas and Johnston form PK2.
Wilson-Bennett-Holloway(LH)
Canada’s bottom 6 was exposed especially in the two games against the USA as being slow and weak in puck battles, something that really tipped the balance of play in the favour of the opposition when the non-MacKinnon and McDavid lines were on the ice. These three address that problem. I decided to eschew players with higher point totals to make sure that Holloway got included. His series against Vancouver last year was in the front of mind, as he made life very difficult for Quinn Hughes when he played against him 5v5, and his offensive output was impress this past year. Wilson brings similar elements, and his speed and physicality are desperately needed. Bennett rewarded for his strong games against the USA as a physical force.
Konecny
Reinhart
Players that can fill in anywhere throughout the lineup, 5v5, pk, pp. Reinhart’s demotion is due to struggles with the pace of the game at the 4 nations, and his inability to get to the front of the net playing with both Crosby and McDavid.
(Fantilli, K. Johnson, Scheifele, Vilardi, Barzal, Hagel, Cirelli, Bédard, Jarvis, Kyrou, Guenther)
Toews-Makar
Not much to say, best pairing in the world when they are healthy and on.
Morrisey-Parayko
Showed good chemistry together at the 4 nations. I really liked Parayko’s series against Winnipeg, he was one of the main reasons the blues came within a second of winning it.
Harley-Doughty
These two played great in the final together. Thomas Harley had grabbed the opportunity opened up by Heiskanen’s injury with both hands and is playing like a top 10 defenseman in the league with his first pass and play driving capabilities.
Theodore
Pietrangelo
Vegas teammates, Theodore is pushed out of the left handed top 3 by Harley and Pietrangelo looked very average against Edmonton. Not the worst options to have in the case of injury
(Chychrun, Bouchard, Dobson, Weegar, Clarke, Tanev, Byram)
Binnington
Thompson
Kuemper
Not too much to say here, it’s a weak spot. Thompson looks like the strongest option but Binnington most recently got the job done at the four nations
(Montembault, Hill, Blackwood)
25 14F-8D-3G
Celebrini-Crosby-MacKinnon
These three have been magic together at the worlds. Celebrini’s off puck play and elite ability to win contested puck battles is what earns him a spot on this team. MacKinnon and Crosby are the best players in the world, and provide a formidable strike force on the first line that no other country can match.
Marner(RH)-McDavid-Point
The line that won the four nations for Canada in overtime, Marner and McDavid looked more in sync in the final with willingness of Brayden Point to get to the difficult to get to areas on the ice versus Sam Reinhart’s relative perimeter play earlier in the tournament. Marner and Point can also form PK1
Suzuki(RH)-Thomas-Johnston
Elite matchup/puck possession line. 4 nations offensive black holes Cirelli and Hagel are jettisoned for Thomas and Johnston, who have proved their worth at both ends of the ice in the end of the season playoff races and in their respective series against Winnipeg. The divisive Suzuki is rewarded for being a 200ft catalyst that carried Montréal to a playoff spot. Canada’s bottom 6 at the four nations only factored in on 2 of 14 goals, and these three redress that lack of scoring depth. Thomas and Johnston form PK2.
Wilson-Bennett-Holloway(LH)
Canada’s bottom 6 was exposed especially in the two games against the USA as being slow and weak in puck battles, something that really tipped the balance of play in the favour of the opposition when the non-MacKinnon and McDavid lines were on the ice. These three address that problem. I decided to eschew players with higher point totals to make sure that Holloway got included. His series against Vancouver last year was in the front of mind, as he made life very difficult for Quinn Hughes when he played against him 5v5, and his offensive output was impress this past year. Wilson brings similar elements, and his speed and physicality are desperately needed. Bennett rewarded for his strong games against the USA as a physical force.
Konecny
Reinhart
Players that can fill in anywhere throughout the lineup, 5v5, pk, pp. Reinhart’s demotion is due to struggles with the pace of the game at the 4 nations, and his inability to get to the front of the net playing with both Crosby and McDavid.
(Fantilli, K. Johnson, Scheifele, Vilardi, Barzal, Hagel, Cirelli, Bédard, Jarvis, Kyrou, Guenther)
Toews-Makar
Not much to say, best pairing in the world when they are healthy and on.
Morrisey-Parayko
Showed good chemistry together at the 4 nations. I really liked Parayko’s series against Winnipeg, he was one of the main reasons the blues came within a second of winning it.
Harley-Doughty
These two played great in the final together. Thomas Harley had grabbed the opportunity opened up by Heiskanen’s injury with both hands and is playing like a top 10 defenseman in the league with his first pass and play driving capabilities.
Theodore
Pietrangelo
Vegas teammates, Theodore is pushed out of the left handed top 3 by Harley and Pietrangelo looked very average against Edmonton. Not the worst options to have in the case of injury
(Chychrun, Bouchard, Dobson, Weegar, Clarke, Tanev, Byram)
Binnington
Thompson
Kuemper
Not too much to say here, it’s a weak spot. Thompson looks like the strongest option but Binnington most recently got the job done at the four nations
(Montembault, Hill, Blackwood)
Good work.
Holloway and Doughty cocked my eyebrow though, I think we are moving on from Doughty and Holloway is just too much of a wildcard for me, not proven enough IMO. He would need one hell of a start to the season next year to convince me.
Time to get the young blood acquainted with big pressure hockey.
JackSlater
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Solid team. I think this team highlights one of the puzzles/issues for Canada, which is too many right handed forwards. For example I don't see the third line functioning very well with three left handed forwards, and the solution would be dropping Suzuki. To me Suzuki is a centre on the team or not on the team. The fourth line also feels a bit reactionary, I'd like to see one guy who can offensively drive the play on each line and the fourth would mainly go out there to cause some mayhem and just hope that they don't get scored on or take a penalty. I strongly believe that we were already shown the proper way to use Marner, and it is driving the offence on one of the depth lines, ideally insulated with some direct and physical players.
All that said, I do agree that something needs to be done to shake up the bottom six. Dropping Cirelli should happen and I'm not sold on Hagel. I don't know if Canada needs both of Jarvis and Konecny, but Konecny is likely the better player at the moment... which is not to say that he will be next season.
Canada lacked offensive threats on the blueline when Makar was unavailable at the four nations, which leads me to think that Theodore needs to play a regular shift. NHL chemistry in defensive pairs has rarely ever yielded benefits for Canada at the best on best level, and I'd look to drop Toews as he is really not that level of player on his own. In an ideal situation I'd probably put Harley with Makar, keep that second pair because it functions very well, and move Theodore into the third pair with potentially Doughty. I'd move on from Pietrangelo after he pulled out of the four nations and others played well, plus he hasn't looked like a difference maker this year. Remaining spot would be wide open competition, possibly Toews or any number of guys.
If we assume that Binnington is in as the goaltender (and I'd love to see someone come out next season looking incredible and locking down the goaltender spot) then I think the biggest issue for management is how to deal with so many of the best forwards being right handed. They're all world class players but margins are thin and three players with the same handedness makes for awkward play, especially if they are not familiar with each other and one is played out of position.
ORRFForever
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On one good year? I watched him a lot in Edmonton, he wasn't much. Sure, things can change and obviously they did this year but Team Canada based on one good season ? I dunno, i'll have to watch more blues games next season.
ORRFForever
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I liked him in Edmonton. I can see your perspective, though. If I had to choose between Holloway and Jarvis, Jarvis is "da man".
PanniniClaus
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I asked for it last year, I'm asking again. Please leave Marner at home with his family..
We can only hope he gets his 14 large in Anaheim and just crumbles under the weight of that contract. ...Taking himself out of consideration.
We can only hope he gets his 14 large in Anaheim and just crumbles under the weight of that contract. ...Taking himself out of consideration.
ORRFForever
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voyageur
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I'd have Montour in there for Pietrangelo. More speed.
Hyman-Mc David-Scheifele. Mc David just needs guys who are strong on the puck to get him the puck. Scheifele can finish better than most options available.
Hagel-Point-Jarvis, a young line that can score goals
Konecny-Bennett-Reinhart
Robert Thomas and Horvat as extra centers.
NordiquesForeva
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I don't understand the lack of love for Hagel in this thread, honestly. 90-point, 2-way winger, and one of the top ES scorers in the league...and plays the left wing naturally, which is probably our weakest position (relatively speaking). I see him as being as much of a lock for 2026 as Reinhart.
I think its more likely than not that Cirelli will be on the 2026 team too. I'm less confident in Cirelli's ability to perform at this level than Hagel, but I do think he'll make the team and I have no real issue with it. Going back to the championship game of the 4 Nations Cup, and both Cirelli and Hagel were playing critical minutes well into the late stages of that game. The same management team and coaching staff will be in place for 2026, and they basically told us who they trust in key situations so I'll take them for their word. I don't see how any of that changes between now and next February.
I still find Bennett's inclusion on the 4 Nations Cup team odd, but he proved himself to be a valuable contributor at this level. Provided he continues his current level of play into the first half of next season, I think he makes the team again.
I'm less sure on Konecny or Jarvis. Jarvis seems to be a young guy they want to have as a foundational piece going forward, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I like Konecny as a player but I thought he looked a little out of his depth at the 4 Nations, maybe trying to do too much to establish himself physically, and ultimately he was scratched for the championship game. I think its unlikely he's back.
Marchand is obviously still a strong player and steps up in big games, Stone as well, but I think management has to force some turnover for 2026 even if those two players are still playing at a high enough level. I thought Marchand looked fairly slow at the 4 Nations, and I don't think Stone ever really found the right role for his skillset on the team. I'd move on from them, and Konecny.
I do think Celebrini will get the nod for the 2026 team, even if its in a 13/14th forward type of role.
Johnston will make his way onto the team I think, provided he has a better start to the season than he did last fall. I like his ability to play up and down the lineup, in a variety of scoring or defensive roles, at C or RW. I see him as a fairly versatile player, with lots of experience for a 21-year old.
The safe choices for the two remaining forward spots are Thomas and Suzuki. Not sure if Suzuki ultimately makes it due to his lack of appearances at the World Championships, but I have no doubt he'd be a safe pick if the management team looked past that. Otherwise, perhaps Scheifele gets the nod, Wilson, or they go with a younger player like Byfield, Fantilli, Bedard or Guenther if any of them get off to a good start next season.
Overall, it will be interesting to see who they invite to camp this summer and get a sense for the current line of thinking with these veteran players, and the youngsters.
OUT: Konecny, Marchand, Stone
IN: Johnston, Celebrini, Thomas, Suzuki (?)
For lines, I'd go with something like this:
Point - McDavid - Marner
Crosby - MacKinnon - Reinhart
Hagel - Cirelli - Johnston
Bennett - Thomas - Suzuki
Celebrini
Jarvis
I think Marner and McDavid is a suboptimal pairing in theory, but they did play well together when lined up on the same line at the 4 Nations, and Point has the speed and pace of play to match McDavid and drive the defense back, opening up space for Marner's playmaking abilities.
The MacKinnon line is a carryover from the 4 Nations, and while I found Reinhart's performance at that tournament a little lacking, he's a good complementary piece on a scoring line with his finishing ability and strong defensive play.
Johnston will (hopefully) provide more scoring oomph to the Cirelli/Hagel pairing, who were strong enough possession players at the 4 Nations but obviously lacked finishing ability. Johnston should be able to help address that.
The 4th line is really the remaining players, but would really be more of a 3B to the Cirelli line's 3A. I think that line has a little bit of everything and could play in any situation, provided Suzuki (or Thomas) can make the switch to RW.
Celebrini is positioned in the same role as Toews in 2010, as someone who can do basically everything well and could easily rise up the lineup and take on a more significant role with strong play. Jarvis is a 200-foot winger who can slot in anywhere in the lineup in case of injury/poor performance.
I think its more likely than not that Cirelli will be on the 2026 team too. I'm less confident in Cirelli's ability to perform at this level than Hagel, but I do think he'll make the team and I have no real issue with it. Going back to the championship game of the 4 Nations Cup, and both Cirelli and Hagel were playing critical minutes well into the late stages of that game. The same management team and coaching staff will be in place for 2026, and they basically told us who they trust in key situations so I'll take them for their word. I don't see how any of that changes between now and next February.
I still find Bennett's inclusion on the 4 Nations Cup team odd, but he proved himself to be a valuable contributor at this level. Provided he continues his current level of play into the first half of next season, I think he makes the team again.
I'm less sure on Konecny or Jarvis. Jarvis seems to be a young guy they want to have as a foundational piece going forward, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I like Konecny as a player but I thought he looked a little out of his depth at the 4 Nations, maybe trying to do too much to establish himself physically, and ultimately he was scratched for the championship game. I think its unlikely he's back.
Marchand is obviously still a strong player and steps up in big games, Stone as well, but I think management has to force some turnover for 2026 even if those two players are still playing at a high enough level. I thought Marchand looked fairly slow at the 4 Nations, and I don't think Stone ever really found the right role for his skillset on the team. I'd move on from them, and Konecny.
I do think Celebrini will get the nod for the 2026 team, even if its in a 13/14th forward type of role.
Johnston will make his way onto the team I think, provided he has a better start to the season than he did last fall. I like his ability to play up and down the lineup, in a variety of scoring or defensive roles, at C or RW. I see him as a fairly versatile player, with lots of experience for a 21-year old.
The safe choices for the two remaining forward spots are Thomas and Suzuki. Not sure if Suzuki ultimately makes it due to his lack of appearances at the World Championships, but I have no doubt he'd be a safe pick if the management team looked past that. Otherwise, perhaps Scheifele gets the nod, Wilson, or they go with a younger player like Byfield, Fantilli, Bedard or Guenther if any of them get off to a good start next season.
Overall, it will be interesting to see who they invite to camp this summer and get a sense for the current line of thinking with these veteran players, and the youngsters.
OUT: Konecny, Marchand, Stone
IN: Johnston, Celebrini, Thomas, Suzuki (?)
For lines, I'd go with something like this:
Point - McDavid - Marner
Crosby - MacKinnon - Reinhart
Hagel - Cirelli - Johnston
Bennett - Thomas - Suzuki
Celebrini
Jarvis
I think Marner and McDavid is a suboptimal pairing in theory, but they did play well together when lined up on the same line at the 4 Nations, and Point has the speed and pace of play to match McDavid and drive the defense back, opening up space for Marner's playmaking abilities.
The MacKinnon line is a carryover from the 4 Nations, and while I found Reinhart's performance at that tournament a little lacking, he's a good complementary piece on a scoring line with his finishing ability and strong defensive play.
Johnston will (hopefully) provide more scoring oomph to the Cirelli/Hagel pairing, who were strong enough possession players at the 4 Nations but obviously lacked finishing ability. Johnston should be able to help address that.
The 4th line is really the remaining players, but would really be more of a 3B to the Cirelli line's 3A. I think that line has a little bit of everything and could play in any situation, provided Suzuki (or Thomas) can make the switch to RW.
Celebrini is positioned in the same role as Toews in 2010, as someone who can do basically everything well and could easily rise up the lineup and take on a more significant role with strong play. Jarvis is a 200-foot winger who can slot in anywhere in the lineup in case of injury/poor performance.
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JackSlater
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Marner has the Toronto stink on him in the NHL but he proved himself at the four nations. I would not rely on him at all to lead the team, but he's a great support piece. We already saw exactly the role that works for him at the four nations, so there is no reason to deviate from that.
JackSlater
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This feels a bit too focused on what Cooper wants. Cooper isn't picking the team, no matter how much he wants Cirelli. People in the thread are generally picking their own teams, not necessarily what will get picked n February or what Cooper wants. Cirelli was an offensive black hole and every shift he played the best outcome was generally that the score remain the same - Canada can do better. Seeing how heavily Cooper used him, even when Canada needed a goal, highlights part of the reason he should not be on the team. He's a very good defensive centre, but Canada can do better. I still think that he probably makes it and Cooper is surely a voice involved, but he really shouldn't be there based on the other players available.
I suspect that people are sleeping on Konecny's chances again. He plays on a fairly putrid team with a terrible power play so his offence is better than it appears at first glance, particularly as an even strength scorer. That Cooper picked Jarvis over Konecny for the final game is on him, and I view it as a minor error based on what I saw at the tournament. They are certainly in competition though. I am confident that Konecny is helping his case by having an excellent iihf world championship, though I'm sure he'd rather be deep in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
NordiquesForeva
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I find it more interesting to try and project out the eventual roster than posting my own, but regardless my approach to roster building and my preferred roster would have differed from the 4 Nations Cup roster and will surely differ from the Olympic roster.
I don’t disagree with you on Konecny (a good example of a player I’d have on my team, potentially in a prominent role) or on Cirelli (a player I’d certainly consider, but would most likely pass on due to his offensive shortcomings). I’m more trying to read the tea leaves on what will happen next December when the roster is announced.
But overall you know better than most that Hockey Canada is an inherently conservative organization and incumbents typically have an advantage if they haven’t played themselves off the team or aged out.
If I was to construct my own forward group for the Olympics, it would look something like this:
Hagel - McDavid - Point
Crosby - Thomas - Reinhart
Byfield - MacKinnon - Marner
Bennett - Suzuki - Johnston
Konecny, Celebrini
I’d take the 2010/2014 approach of building from the centre out, with puck retrieval and scoring ability on the wings. The Thomas line would be a highly-skilled matchup line akin to the Toews lines in 2010 and 2014.
I’d love to see Byfield take that next step and crack the 2026 team. Byfield coming down the wing with speed, alongside MacKinnon, driving the defense back to open up space for Marner’s playmaking, is enticing. Fantilli, Lafrenière, Bédard, and Guenther are in a similar group as far as I see it, but overall I thought we lacked length and power at the wing position at the 4 Nations…some young players are close to filling that void I think but Byfield seems to be the closest to best-on-best level of play and I’d take him.
Jarvis and Scheifele are the others that could easily step in and make my team, but my preference is to keep wingers on their strong sides to the extent possible and we’re quite deep on the right side. Suzuki is a little more well-rounded than Scheifele, in my view, so I’d give him an edge as 4C. Between Jarvis and Konecny I think Konecny fits the makeup of my team a little better and provides a little more physicality at the bottom of the lineup.
PitkanensGitch
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Highly disagree with the bolded, and believing this is a recipe for disaster.
Having another elite playmaker who can hold onto the puck like Draisaitl is the best option to play with him. Hyman and Schiefele aren’t good enough with the puck. Marner is too soft.
I’d personally look to put Crosby there. We don’t have a Draisaitl but Sid would be a good option.
JackSlater
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I get the idea of Byfield or a similar player, and ideally Canada would get some size and strength in the forward group. It's a balancing act however where the player needs to really show it. We are seeing it now at the iihf world championship with Fantilli, where we would all like to see him play to a certain level but in reality he was dropped to 13th forward by his own NHL coach. Byfield is still a guy who was only fourth on the Kings in scoring and has never cracked 60 points in a season. I'd love for Byfield or Fantilli or someone like that to break out like Iginla at the beginning of the 2002 season, but it remains to be seen.
I'd also love for Lafreniere, Dubois, and Byfield to have developed as hoped and become a monstrous third line for Canada, but as of this moment I won't be holding my breath.
I have liked how some Canadian forwards have trended since the four nations event. Thomas, Suzuki, Johnston, and Celebrini have really established themselves as legitimate contenders. Canada has a chance to improve its forwards for the Olympics and I hope that the chance is taken. Thomas' GM is picking the team (and I assume he will be "unbanned" this summer), Johnston's GM is assistant GM of the team, Celebrini is turning heads for Hockey Canada in Europe, and even Suzuki will at least have a heavy media push from Montreal media. I don't think they all make it, but I'd like to see at least three cycle in.
NordiquesForeva
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I think there’s still time for those young guys to develop into best-on-best calibre players but we’re probably looking more at 2030. I think Byfield is probably the closest but he has some work to do next season. I like the profile of Byfield/Fantilli, but then again I was a lot higher on Carter, Nash and Marleau in 2010/2014 than most others. I like my wingers to be big, fast, and able to get in on the forecheck in a hurry…and play responsible defense. And those guys were fantastic finishers as well, unlike Byfield and Fantilli as of yet.
Maybe we should be talking about Dubois a lot more, coming off a very strong season (and with a very solid history of representing Canada internationally). Or is his reputation so tarnished at this point that he’s been effectively blacklisted from the senior best-on-best team? Because if he’s playing up to his potential he’d be a perfect middle-6 LW for Canada.
JackSlater
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I can't imagine Dubois is looked down on, they brought him over last year at the iihf world championship and he played well. He did have a good year for Washington as well but his effort level is so uneven, it's just hard to see them taking a flyer on him. On some level people also hold it against guys who don't fulfil their potential, even if they do still turn out to be a very good player. I just don't see Dubois at this level unless he reaches a new level next year. Canada could do worse than having the best version of Dubois (something like 35 goal/50 assist 6'4 monster) on the wing at the 2026 Olympics, I just don't bet on that Dubois showing up.
