Predicting Canada's men's hockey roster for the 2030 Olympics
As far as the hockey portion is considered, the entire country of Canada is already turning their sights to the 2030 Olympics.
Both the men and women’s Canadian hockey teams fell to the US in the gold medal game. Both games were also decided in overtime, making the losses all the more crushing.
As is the case following any loss of this magnitude, questions are beginning to arise as to whether these team’s made the right decisions when picking their roster. Take the men’s side, for example, where many are questioning why Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard was left at home.
Picking any type of roster for a best-on-best event is never an easy decision. That said, on the men’s side of things, you can’t help but wonder if they need to go a slightly different direction going forward. Here’s a look at what we believe the men’s 2030 Olympic roster should look like.
Team Canada forwards
Celebrini – McDavid – Marner
McKenna – MacKinnon – Bedard
Sennecke – Point – Reinhart
Hagel – Suzuki – Johnston
Jarvis – Misa
Canada made some mistakes at this year’s Olympics, opting to go with a veteran-heavy team. Players such as Brad Marchand and Mark Stone failed to keep up from a speed perspective, something Hockey Canada’s brass certainly made note of.
By the time 2030 has arrived, those selecting this roster will, or at least should, opt to worry more about skill than experience. That is why several young players including Beckett Sennecke and Michael Misa are included. As for Gavin McKenna, it remains to be seen how he will fare at the NHL level, but all signs point to him turning into a superstar.
The one very difficult omission up front was Sidney Crosby. He continues to be one of the best players in the world, but may not have much time left on top at the age of 38.
Team Canada defencemen
Schaefer – Makar
Morrissey – Bouchard
Harley – Theodore
Chychrun – Sanheim
After winning the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Hockey Canada brass elected to go with the exact same blue line. It’s always easier to view these decisions in hindsight, but that decision also appears to have been a mistake.
Rather than select a young blue liner who has taken the NHL by storm in Matthew Schaefer, they elected to go with the likes of Devon Toews, Drew Doughty, Colton Parayko, and Travis Sanheim. The only one of those four likely to return in 2030 is Sanheim, though Toews, who will be 36 at that time, still does have an outside shot.
For 2030, the Canadians would be much better off going with Evan Bouchard, who would provide plenty more offence for a team that struggled to score in this tournament. Schaefer is essentially a no-brainer, while Jakob Chychrun feels like an upgrade.
Team Canada goalies
Thompson
Cossa
Binnington
This will remain the area of concern for Canada unless somebody emerges as a true number-one option. At this point, it feels as though the job will be Logan Thompson’s based on what he’s done over the past two seasons with the Washington Capitals.
As for the back-up position, it looks as though Sebastian Cossa could very much be in the conversation at that point. The 2021 first-round pick is having a fantastic season with the Grand Rapins Griffins, posting a 1.95 GAA and a .928 SV% through 29 games.
Last but not least is Jordan Binnington, who has served as the number-one option for Canada in both these past Olympic Games as well as 4 Nations. Though many were hesitant on him being the starter going into Milano Cortina 2026, he gave his team a shot to win gold, which is all fans could have asked.