There are now just seven months to go until the 2026 Winter Olympics, which are scheduled to take place in Italy from Feb. 6 to 22.
Milano Cortina 2026 will feature the long-awaited return of best-on-best competition in men’s hockey at the Olympics. On Wednesday (July 3), the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) finalized a deal allowing NHL players to participate in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014.
The Great Canadian Debate 🇨🇦 – The #TSNHockey gang projects Canada’s 2026 Olympic roster: https://t.co/dUnKZZICpR pic.twitter.com/VuNixmLAGr
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) July 1, 2025
So while it might be the middle of the summer, the debate about Olympic lineups is already heating up. TSN even took time from its coverage of the opening of free agency this week to have its entire panel of experts weigh in on the Team Canada roster, and their projections certainly caught the attention of Oil Country.
Edmonton fans already knew that forward Connor McDavid would be going to Italy: the Oilers captain was among the first six players that Hockey Canada announced last month for its men’s Olympic roster, joining defenceman Cale Makar and fellow forwards Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brayden Point, and Sam Reinhart.
But McDavid might not be the only member of his NHL team that will represent Canada on the sport’s greatest stage next February. Far from it, in fact.
Bouchard and Hyman Make the Cut
After some spirited debate among the TSN panel, Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard and winger Zach Hyman both made the cut for Team Canada’s Olympic roster, although the former was not a unanimous selection.
The inclusion of Bouchard and Hyman might come as a bit of a surprise, considering both were left off the Canadian roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off. And after Canada’s dramatic victory in that tournament in February, the assumption was that the Canadian 4 Nations Face-Off roster would be largely returning for the 2026 Winter Games.
But the 4 Nations Face-Off was played with NHL rules, whereas the Olympic hockey tournament will be contested under international rules, and there are compelling cases to be made for Bouchard and Hyman.
Chemistry Is Key
The TSN panel has Hyman slotted on the left wing of Team Canada’s top line, with McDavid in the middle and Point playing right wing….
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