Hockey Canada announced today that defenseman Travis Sanheim has been named one of eight defensemen for Team Canada for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. He joins Head Coach Rick Tocchet who will serve as Assistant Coach of Team Canada.
Sanheim, a native of Elkhorn, Manitoba has represented his country on six previous occasions, including the 2025 Four Nations Face-Off where he helped Canada capture gold, and the 2025 IIHF World Championship earlier this year. This will mark his first appearance at the Olympic Games.
“Representing my country at the Olympics is something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid,” said Sanheim. “Having that dream come true really is special and I can’t wait to wear the maple leaf and compete alongside the best hockey players in the world.”
So far this season, Sanheim is averaging the third most time on ice per 24:38 per game among Canadian defensemen in the NHL. He has emerged as Philadelphia’s go-to option in all key defensive situations, leading the Flyers in time on ice and shorthanded ice time with an average of 3:19 per game—ranking eighth in the league. Additionally, only two NHL defensemen have logged more overtime ice time than Sanheim this season (24:26).
Sanheim’s continued longevity with the Flyers has further cemented his place among the franchise’s all-time great defensemen. He currently ranks tied for fourth in points by a defenseman in team history with 230 and has played the fifth-most games (617) by a defenseman in Flyers franchise history.
Sanheim joins Head Coach Tocchet who will be on the bench for Team Canada as assistant coach. The Olympic Games will mark the second time the Scarborough, ON native has represented Hockey Canada as a coach while he has also represented Canada as a player on three occasions.
The veteran coach has a career record of 306-276-94 in 676 regular season NHL games behind the bench as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning (2008-10), Arizona Coyotes (2017-2021), Canucks (2022-25), and Flyers (2025-present).
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games will feature NHL players for the first time since 2014 in Sochi. Since then, there has only been two other best-on-best hockey tournaments; the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and the 2025 Four Nations Face-Off—both organized the by the National Hockey League.
