Team Canada roster for 2026 Winter Olympics includes Celebrini, Horvat

Macklin Celebrini’s incredible second season in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks now includes a spot on Team Canada for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

The 19-year-old from North Vancouver, British Columbia, was one the 25 players named by Canada to its Olympic roster on Wednesday.

Celebrini, along with New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat, Montreal Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki, Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson, Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper and Washington Capitals goalie Logan Thompson are the six players on the Olympic roster who did not play for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off this past February.

Team Canada general manager Doug Armstong said Celebrini said Celebrini made a great first impression on him last season.

“I had the opportunity to meet him, it might have been his fifth or sixth NHL game. It's a story I think I've shared with some of you that they were playing in St. Louis. I went down before the game and introduced myself and said, ‘You're not on the radar likely for the 4 Nations, but the Olympics are coming up, and we're going to watch you. And he proceeded to have, I think, four points that night," Armstrong said. “Since then, he's really taken off. He's gone to the Worlds. He fit in very well, socially with the top players in the game, and his product on the ice speaks for itself. So he worked his way on. His resume is shorter, but it's extremely filled for his age.”

It’s the first group of NHL players to represent Canada at the Olympics since 2014, when NHL players most recently participated.

The tournament will feature all 12 teams playing three preliminary games in their respective groups.

The three group winners and the best second-place team will get a bye into the quarterfinals; the other eight teams will play single-elimination games to determine the other four quarterfinalists. The gold medal game will be held on Feb. 22.

Team Canada, which is in Group A, will open against Team Czechia on Feb. 12, then play Team Switzerland on Feb. 13 and Team France on Feb. 15.

“As always, it goes down to the last couple of days," Armstrong said. "The process worked very well. Our last major meeting with our management group was in early December, I would say. We walked out of that meeting with 12 forwards in consensus, seven defensemen and two goalies."

Here is the Team Canada roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 (in alphabetical order) and a breakdown by NHL.com of each position group:

Explore NHL.com's Coverage of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026

FORWARDS (14)

Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks
Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning
Bo Horvat, New York Islanders
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Brad Marchand, Florida Panthers
Mitch Marner, Vegas Golden Knights
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning
Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers
Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights
Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens
Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals

Four new players are part of the forward group from the 4 Nations, with Horvat perhaps the biggest surprise. Horvat is a plus in the face-off circle, with a 57.8 winning percentage, which is sixth in the NHL among all players to take at least 500 draws. Celebrini and Suzuki, 26, bring a youth element to forward group stacked with veterans, and Wilson brings a physical edge. From the 4 Nations roster, they replace Sam Bennett (Panthers), Travis Konecny (Philadelphia Flyers) and Seth Jarvis (Carolina Hurricanes). Still, there will be an abundance of offensive talent up front for Canada, led by McDavid and MacKinnon, two of the fastest and most dynamic players in the world. Scoring should not be an issue with Crosby, Reinhart and Marner also in the mix. Marchand, 37, demonstrated he is still capable of playing at the highest level, helping Florida to its second straight Stanley Cup championship last season and maintaining that standard at the start of 2025-26.

DEFENSEMEN (8)

Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Thomas Harley, Dallas Stars
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets
Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues
Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers
Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights
Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche

This is the same group of eight defensemen who played for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Harley stepping in after Theodore was injured in the tournament opener. Doughty, along with Crosby, has Olympic experience, playing for Canada in 2014 in Sochi. While he is the most experienced veteran, the leader of this group is Makar, who is having another outstanding season for the Avalanche. Canada’s defense was strong in the 4 Nations, so why change it up?

GOALIES (3)

Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings
Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals

Kuemper and Thompson make the Olympic team, replacing Adin Hill of the Golden Knights and Sam Montembeault of the Canadiens from the 4 Nations roster. Of course, all eyes will be on Binnington, who helped lead Canada to the 4 Nations championship but has struggled this season for the Blues. Thompson and Kuemper have been solid this season, and it appears the battle for the No. 1 spot in Milan is wide open. The biggest question for Canada is still the biggest question now that the rosters have been named.