Eleven Lightning players selected for 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy

When the NHL pauses for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics in February, Tampa Bay Lightning fans can still catch plenty of Bolts hockey.

Eleven different Lightning players, as well as three members from the organization’s hockey operations staff, will take part in the international best-on-best tournament from Feb. 11-22 in Italy.

Tampa Bay’s 11 Olympic players give them the most of any NHL organization.

“You look down the list of all the guys going and how special they are, and it’s what makes our team great,” Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli said of Tampa Bay’s Olympic representation. “You see night in and night out all the guys and the way they battle and the way they play. So to have that many people represented just goes to show how good of a team we believe we are.”

Here is a full breakdown of every Bolt competing in the event for Tampa Bay as well as some of the numbers that got them there:

Team USA - F Jake Guentzel

Since signing a seven-year contract with Tampa Bay in July 2024, no Lightning player has scored more goals than Jake Guentzel, and he will hope to bring some of that offensive punch to Team USA.

Guentzel ranks second on the Lightning in points (44) so far this season behind only Nikita Kucherov (61) and is one of three Lightning players to appear in all 42 games.

Guentzel scored three goals and four points at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament, and that offense has continued into this season.

His 44 points put him inside the NHL’s top 25 for scoring on Wednesday afternoon and sat fourth-most by a U.S.-born forward this season. His 16 power-play points are third-most of any American player named to the preliminary Olympic roster behind only Quinn Hughes and Jack Eichel.

This will be Guentzel’s first time participating in the Olympics.

Team Canada - F Brayden Point, F Brandon Hagel, F Anthony Cirelli

Apart from the long-lived North American rivalry, Lightning fans will have plenty of reasons–six in total–to monitor Canada’s progress in Italy.

Assistant captain Brayden Point was one of Canada's initial choices to join head coach Jon Cooper at this year’s Olympic games. Point has scored 26 points in 35 games this season, including 15 over his last 13 games dating back to Dec. 9.

Point’s 316 career goals rank 20th among active Canadian NHLers and are sixth-most among this year’s Canadian Olympic roster.

It was announced last Thursday that Point will be joined on the international stage once again by teammates Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli after the trio spent time on the same line at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Hagel remains a point-per-game player for Tampa Bay this season, scoring 20 goals and 38 points in 37 games. His 32 even-strength points were seventh-most in the NHL among Canadian forwards on Wednesday, and his 17 even-strength goals tied for sixth-most.

Hagel sees time on the power play and penalty kill alongside Cirelli, an area we may see both players in Italy.

Cirelli, 28, is tied for fourth on the Lightning this season with 12 goals.

Cirelli sees more time on the penalty kill than nearly any other NHL forward–He has played 110:24 of shorthanded time on ice this season, fourth-most among the league’s Canadian-born forwards. He is the only forward in the top five with more than 20 points (25) this season.

Cirelli’s +22 rating in plus/mius is tied for fourth-best of any NHL forward this season and ties him with Hagel for second-best of any Canadian forward behind only fellow Olympian Nathan MacKinnon.

Lightning GM Julien BriseBois serves as one of Team Canada’s assistant general managers, and mental performance coach Dr. Ryan Hamilton is also on the staff.

Team Sweden - D Victor Hedman, F Pontus Holmberg

Tampa Bay’s captain is currently recovering from a procedure on his elbow but aims to return and play alongside his countrymen on the international stage in February.

Victor Hedman has represented his country at numerous international events, but this will mark his first time playing for Sweden at the Olympics.

Hedman has appeared in 18 games for Tampa Bay this season, posting 12 assists while playing 21:05 per game. He is the third-highest scoring Swedish-born defenseman in NHL history with 806 career points.

He played in three games as captain for Team Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, posting one assist. He finished with a plus-three rating, which tied for third-highest of the tournament. Hedman’s 25:19 time on ice per game was also the third-most of any player at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Hedman will be joined at the Olympics by a newer addition to the Lightning locker room in forward Pontus Holmberg.

Holmberg, 26, will play in his second-straight Olympics for Team Sweden after also appearing in 2022. He posted two assists and was plus-1 across six games in 2022.

Holmberg has posted six goals and 13 points in his first 35 games with the Lightning since joining the team on a two-year contract this past offseason.

His two game-winning goals are tied for sixth among Swedish NHL forwards this season, and his plus-7 rating ties him for sixth in the same group. He also brings some physicality to the Swedish roster, ranking 16th among Swedish forwards in hits (36) and tying for 15th in blocked shots (17) so far in 2025-26.

Team Denmark - F Oliver Bjorkstrand

Oliver Bjorkstrand is one of four Danish forwards playing in the NHL this season and ranks second in total offense with 20 points. Only Carolina’s Nikolaj Ehlers (34 points) has scored more.

Bjorkstrand is in his second season with the Lightning since being acquired in a trade with the Seattle Kraken last March. His five power-play goals this season are tied for second-most on the team behind only defenseman Darren Raddysh.

Bjorkstrand has already moved up the Denmark history books with the Lightning in 2025-26, becoming just the fourth Denmark-born player in the league to reach the 400-point mark with a goal on Dec. 22 against the St. Louis Blues.

The 30-year-old forward is the fourth-highest scoring Dane in NHL history, trailing active NHLers Ehlers and Lars Eller (430) as well as retired forward Frans Nielsen (473).

His 666 NHL games played are the fifth-most by a Denmark-born player in league history.

Team Latvia - F Zemgus Girgensons

Zemgus Girgensons became the third Latvian-born player to score 200 points in the NHL earlier this season, and now he’ll represent the country at the 2026 Olympics.

Girgensons ranks third in NHL history for scoring by a Latvian-born player with 202 career points, and his 805 games played are also third-most all-time. They are the most by any Latvian-born forward.

Girgensons has contributed six goals and eight points for the Lightning this season and continues to be a physical force in his second campaign with the Bolts. His 98 hits tied him for 37th in the NHL on Wednesday and are the most of any Lightning player in 2025-26.

He is one of four Latvian-born players to appear in an NHL game so far this season and is tied with Philadelphia’s Rodrigo Abols as the leading Latvian scorer in the league. His six scores pace his fellow countrymen in goal-scoring this season.

He is the only Latvian-born First Round Draft Pick in NHL history.

Team Slovakia - D Erik Cernak

Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak has represented Slovakia in both the World Junior Championship and World Championship tournaments over the course of his playing career, but he too will head to the Olympics in his home country’s jersey for the first time this February.

Cernak has four assists in 23 games for Tampa Bay this season and was one of Slovakia’s initial players announced to the team back in 2025. His 47 blocked shots this season are second-most on the Lightning.

The 28-year-old defenseman with 464 career NHL games has 113 points, all with Tampa Bay, which rank sixth among Slovakian defensemen all-time. He also ranks sixth for NHL games played by a Slovakian defenseman.

Cernak is one of three active NHL defenders from Slovakia, joining Washington’s Martin Fehervary and New Jersey’s Simon Nemec. Cernak leads all active NHL players from his home country in career games played, assists, even-strength points, plus-minus and penalty minutes.

Team Switzerland - D JJ Moser

After recently signing an eight-year extension with Tampa Bay, Moser on Wednesday morning was also added to an Olympic roster.

The 25-year-old defender will play for Team Switzerland in Italy. He contributed a goal and six points in 10 games for Team Switzerland at the 2025 IIHF World Championship last summer and has been a steady presence for the country on the international stage.

Moser leads Tampa Bay this season in average time on ice, playing 21:54 per game, while also pacing the team in blocked shots with 51. He is tied for second among Bolts defensemen in both goals (four) and points (14).

Moser’s 14 points are the second-most by a Swiss defenseman this season, trailing only the 18 points posted by former James Norris Memorial Trophy winner Roman Josi. Moser ranks fifth among Swiss-born NHLers in assists (10) and even-strength points (13), and his 28 penalty minutes are second-most.

He remains among the NHL’s best in goal differential, ranking fourth in the league in plus-minus at +32 as of Wednesday. It is the league’s best among defensemen.

Team Germany - F Wojciech Stachowiak

A new face to the organization in forward Wojciech Stachowiak is a familiar one to Team Germany, and he will make his Olympic debut for the Germans in 2026 after being named to their squad this week.

Stachowiak, 26, signed with Tampa Bay this offseason and had a standout preseason for the Lightning. The left wing has scored 17 points in 32 games for Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, this season, while his nine goals are tied for third-most on the team.

Stachowiak has played for Germany on the international stage on multiple occasions in the past, including at the 2025 IIHF World Championship last summer when he led Team Germany with three goals and ranked second on the team with six points in seven games.

The forward has played parts of six seasons in the DEL, the top professional league in Germany.