Hockey Canada announced today the first six players of its roster for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, which will be held from Feb. 6-22, 2026 in Milan and Cortina, Italy. Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar were selected to the initial roster. Canada enters the Olympics as the reigning “Best-on-Best” Hockey Tournament champions after winning the 4 Nations Face-Off in February of 2025.
MacKinnon was a finalist for the 2024-25 Ted Lindsay Award and finished second in league scoring with 116 points (32g/84a) in 79 games, reaching the 100-point mark for the third consecutive season to join Peter Stastny (six) as the only players in franchise history to accomplish that feat. The centerman held at least a share of the lead in points for 122 of the 124 days from Dec. 10 to April 12 but missed the final three games of the regular season due to injury. Despite being shut down, MacKinnon still tied for the league-lead in assists, becoming the first player in franchise history to post back-to-back 80-assist campaigns and just the second player in Avalanche/Nordiques history to have at least a share of the most helpers in the NHL at season’s end, joining Peter Forsberg in 2002-03.
The 6-foot, 200-pound forward has produced 1,015 points (367g/648a) in 870 regular-season games since his NHL debut in 2013-14. The point total trails only Connor McDavid (1,082) and Sidney Crosby (1,022) for tops in the league since the start of 2013-14, while his assist total sits behind only McDavid (721) in that span. The Halifax, Nova Scotia, native paced the Avalanche with seven goals (7g/4a) over seven 2025 Stanley Cup Playoff contests to tie the franchise record for most tallies in a series. His 125 career playoff points (55g/70a) in 95 games gives him the fifth-highest points per game average (1.32) in postseason history (min. 50 GP).
MacKinnon, who will be 30 years old at the Olympics, represented Team Canada at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and won gold. He was named the showcase’s MVP after tallying a tournament-leading four goals (4g/0a) in four games, joining Wayne Gretzky (1987) and Joe Sakic (2002) as the only players in hockey history to be the reigning MVP of both the NHL season and the most recent best-on-best international tournament. Additional international experience includes competing at the IIHF World Championship four times since turning pro (2025, 2017, 2015 and 2014), and skated for Canada at the 2013 World Junior Championship as well as Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. In the four World Championship runs, MacKinnon registered 41 points (18g/23a) in 36 games, including sharing the Team Canada in scoring with 13 points (7g/6a) in 2025. He metaled twice, capturing gold in 2015 and silver in 2017.
On March 10, 2025, MacKinnon recorded his 1,000th career point against Chicago, becoming the 100th player in NHL history to reach the milestone and first from the 2013 draft class. Among the players named to an initial Olympic roster, MacKinnon is one of three players named to Team Canada today to have over 1,000 career points (Crosby, McDavid).
Makar, 26, was awarded the 2024-25 James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s defenseman who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability at the position. He’s been a finalist in each of the last five seasons and also took home the award in 2021-22. Makar is one of 14 players in League history to have multiple Norris Trophies to his name and one of six to grab multiple before turning 27 years old.
A native of Calgary, Alberta, Makar registered 92 points (30g/62a) in 80 games during the 2024-25 regular season to pace all NHL blueliners in goals, assists and points, with his 30 goals and 92 points breaking his own franchise records for a defenseman. The 30 tallies marked the first time an NHL defenseman hit the benchmark since Mike Green (31g/42a) in 2008-09 with the Washington Capitals. In fact, Makar is just the ninth different rearguard in NHL history (18th instance) to hit the 30-goal mark. The blueliner also ranked first among League defensemen in power-play goals (12), power-play points (35), even-strength points (54 - tied), shorthanded tallies (2), multi-goal efforts (6), multi-point performances (27), goals per game (0.38) and points per game (1.15) last season.
The 6-foot, 187-pound defenseman enters 2025-26 with 428 points (116g/312a) over 395 regular-season games. In NHL history, only Bobby Orr (498) and Paul Coffey (464) had more points after playing 395 games on the blue line. Since his first regular season in 2019-20, Makar has registered the most goals and points in the league by a defenseman while trailing only Quinn Hughes for the most helpers in that span. In postseason play, Makar has recorded 85 points (22g/63a), the third-best all-time points per game average (1.08) by a defenseman with at least 60 Stanley Cup Playoff games behind Orr (1.24) and Evan Bouchard (1.09).
Makar also helped Canada win the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off after leading the tournament in ice time (26:47). The 2026 Winter Olympics will be his second International Hockey experience since turning pro. The defenseman also captured gold representing his country at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship and was selected to the Under-20 All-Star Team that season.
