Bruins Candidates for the 2026 Winter Olympics

The last time anyone from the Boston Bruins participated in the Olympic Winter Games was in 2014, when Patrice Bergeron won a Gold Medal with Canada, Zdeno Chara served as captain for Slovakia, and Tuukka Rask was the starter for Finland. After 12 years of sitting out the games, the NHL recently announced that the league and player’s association agreed to participate in the 2026 and 2030 Olympics.

Related: Canada’s Projected Roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics

Although these events are two years away, discussions about which NHL players will represent their home countries in the upcoming games are rampant. Of course, these topics are always fun to discuss because there is so much uncertainty between now and then, but if things go unchanged, it is getting obvious who will be at the event and who won’t make it.

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Today, we want to look into the crystal ball and see which members of the 2023-24 Bruins lineup will be invited to Italy in hopes of winning the first gold medal as an NHL player since 2014.

David Pastrnak – Czechia

By the 2025-26 season, David Pastrnak could be a three-time 50-goal scorer and in line to be the Czechia’s top winger. Even though he won’t have Brad Marchand feeding him pucks, Pastrnak showed in the recent All-Star Game that he is so gifted that he can still score with anyone on his line.

Last year, Pastrnak had a career-high 61 goals and finished second in the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race, but during his historic season, he inked an extension to remain in Boston until the end of the 2030-31 season. By the time we reach the start of the Winter Games in February 2026, he will only be 29 and still in his prime. Even though Czechia would be a long shot for a medal, there’s a good chance that Pastrnak is one of the tournament’s best forwards.

Internationally, the Bruins sniper is a five-time Czech Player of the Year award winner. He has a World Championship Bronze Medal (2022), a U18 WJC Silver Medal (2016), and a U20 WJC Top 3 Player on Team award (2016).

Linus Ullmark – Sweden

Once Henrik Lundqvist retired, he left a significant hole in the Swedish goalie crease that no one is close to filling. In 2023-24, there have been only 10 goalies from the Nordic country to play in the league, with four earning, sharing, or handling the starting duties for their teams, including Linus Ullmark.