Geekie, Jones among Olympic roster sleeper picks discussed by NHL.com

Rosters for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 have been debated since the 12 participating countries each named six players to their preliminary rosters in June.

Players have come and gone from those arguments as injuries and slumps have taken their toll.

The deadline for the 12 teams to submit a final roster of 25 players is Dec. 31, with roster announcements coming shortly afterward.

Though it’s not difficult to predict most of the players for each team, there are some who have barged their way into the conversation, making some final difficult decisions.

We asked a panel of NHL.com writers to identify the most intriguing of these sleeper candidates. Here, in alphabetical order, are the answers.

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Connor Bedard, Canada

The Chicago Blackhawks forward was on the outside looking in regarding Team Canada when the season began but momentum started building for him after his tremendous start. He’s out with an upper-body injury until at least the start of January but I still believe he deserves a spot with Canada. When Bedard was placed on injured reserve Dec. 15, he had 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists) in 31 games. At the time, he was fourth in the NHL behind Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (55), Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (52) and Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks (47). Bedard has come into his game in a big way and once he’s back, he should be prepping for the Olympics. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Tyler Bertuzzi, Canada

Yes, Bedard is the leader of the Blackhawks, and if he’s healthy, he should represent Canada. And while Bedard has gotten most of the attention, Bertuzzi has been just as effective for the Blackhawks, especially in the so-called dirty areas of the ice. Per NHL EDGE stats, Bertuzzi has scored 15 goals from high-danger areas, which is tied for the NHL lead with Jake Guentzel of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The high-danger area is the area within 29 feet of the center of the goal and bound on both sides by an imaginary line drawn from the face-off dot to two feet outside the goal post. In layman’s terms, not only is he unafraid to go into the tight areas around the net; he also has a knack for scoring greasy goals. Canada needs a guy like that. -- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief

John Carlson, United States

The Washington Capitals defenseman played for the U.S. in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, so he has the experience few candidates have. Twelve years later, he should be an Olympian again. He wasn’t invited to the U.S. Olympic Orientation Camp in August, so he’s a longshot, but everything he’s done this season -- a mirror image of last season with a better goal rate -- proves he still belongs as one of the eight American defenseman in Milan. He’s productive and playing big minutes against the top competition in the NHL. Carlson doesn’t need to be allotted power-play time if he goes to the Olympics. He can leave that responsibility to others and just be a steady, shut-down, no-frills defenseman on the right side. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Morgan Geekie, Canada

There were points at which the Geekie experience with the Boston Bruins could have been described as a fluke. This was a guy who’d never been highly regarded, a guy who was not issued a qualifying offer by the Seattle Kraken in 2023. So, 17 goals in 2023-24? Maybe a career year. But when Geekie followed that up with 33 more goals the next season and 25 in 38 games this season, second in the NHL to Nathan MacKinnon, it’s clear that it isn’t a fluke. The leading goal-scorer in calendar year 2025, with 50, Geekie seemingly hasn’t gotten a sniff at being named to Canada’s team for the Olympics, but maybe he should be. That shot, those goals, might come in handy. -- Amalie Benjamin, senior writer

Zach Hyman, Canada

The Edmonton Oilers forward is making a case to play for Canada now that he’s back in the lineup and is starting to regain his scoring touch. Hyman sustained a wrist injury in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars last season and returned Nov. 15. A 54-goal scorer in 2023-24, it took Hyman seven games to score his first goal this season, but once he opened his account, went on to score eight goals in his next nine games. That included a hat trick in a 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 11. He entered the holiday break with 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in his past eight games. If Hyman shows a continued acumen for scoring, his candidacy should gain momentum. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

Seth Jones, United States

The Florida Panthers defenseman showed how he could help a team win when he hoisted the Stanley Cup last season. The 31-year-old is playing perhaps his best hockey this season and could fill a need for the American defense. Team USA is heavy on power-play quarterbacks and left-handed shots, but light on shut-down types and right-handed shots. Jones, a righty, could fit in a defensive role. He has size (6-foot-4, 213 pounds). He skates well, can log a lot of minutes against tough competition and can kill penalties. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Oliver Kapanen, Finland

The Montreal Canadiens forward belongs on the Finnish entry at Milan. The rookie has 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) in 37 games this season in a performance that has even captured the fancy of national team mainstay Mikko Rantanen, a forward with the Dallas Stars. Rantanen mentioned unprompted earlier this month that Kapanen should be a roster possibility. For good reason. He didn’t score a goal in 18 regular-season games last season with the Canadiens, but he went to the Calder Cup Playoffs for Laval (American Hockey League) and scored six points (three goals, three assists) in 11 games. More importantly, in the 2024 World Championships, he had six goals in eight games and Finland won a silver medal. He belongs and he should be in Milan -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

Jason Robertson, United States

The Stars forward is motivated to make this roster after missing the cut for the 4 Nations Face-Off last year following a slow start due to offseason foot surgery. The 26-year-old is the leading U.S.-born scorer in the NHL this season with 45 points (23 goals, 22 assists), The left wing has size (6-3, 204), strength in the corners, can play big minutes and is effective at each end of the ice. He's represented his country before, scoring nine points (four goals, five assists) in 10 games at the 2021 World Championship (bronze medal) and seven points (one goal, six assists) in seven games at the 2019 World Junior Championship (silver medal). -- Mike G. Morreale, senior draft writer

Jesper Wallstedt, Sweden

The Minnesota Wild rookie began the season as a longshot to earn one of the three goalie spots on Sweden’s roster with Wild teammate Filip Gustavsson, the New Jersey Devils’ Jacob Markstrom, the Ottawa Senators’ Linus Ullmark and the Philadelphia Flyers’ Samuel Ersson ahead of him on the depth chart. Wallstedt barged his way into the conversation in November, though, when he went 6-0-0 with a League-best 1.14 goals-against average, .967 save percentage and three shutouts in six games to be named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month. The 23-year-old has continued his strong play in December and has been pushing Gustavsson for playing time in Minnesota while making it difficult for Sweden’s management and coaching staff to leave him off the team. -- Tom Gulitti, senior writer

Tom Wilson, Canada

It’s rare to find the type of power forward who can make an impact on the score sheet and in the corners. Wilson can do both. No longer should the forward (6-4, 225) be considered just a beefy pugilist who is a constant penalty risk. That argument lacks credibility, especially since he’s almost a point-per-game player (17 goals, 17 assists, 34 points in 36 games) with the Washington Capitals this season. Team Canada officials debated whether he should have been picked for 4 Nations Face-Off last February; odds are that they will take him this time. If so, expect to see his big body in front of the opposing net causing havoc on the power play … when he’s not ensuring teams aren’t taking liberties with Canada’s skilled players like Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer