10 former Vancouver Canucks who will compete at the 2026 Olympics
The 2025-26 season hasn’t given Vancouver Canucks fans much reason to cheer, but perhaps the Olympics will.
Canada is unsurprisingly the odds-on favourite to take home gold, with a slight edge over the United States.
For the Canucks, they have six players in their organization who will represent their respective countries at the Olympics. That includes these five players from their active roster:
- Elias Pettersson (Sweden)
- Kevin Lankinen (Finland)
- Filip Hronek (Czechia)
- David KƤmpf (Czechia)
- Teddy Blueger (Latvia)
Lukas Reichel, who is currently with the Abbotsford Canucks, will also represent Germany.
Former Canucks can be spotted on seven of the 12 teams competing for gold at the Olympics. All 10 of them are listed below.
1. Quinn Hughes (United States)
After missing out on the 4 Nations tournament due to injury, Quinn Hughes was one of six players listed on the preliminary Olympic roster for the United States.
The former Canucks captain is off to a hot start with the Minnesota Wild, shattering franchise records while helping his new team collect a league-high 19 points since the deal.
2. J.T. Miller (United States)
Unlike Hughes, J.T. Miller was somewhat of a surprise addition to the U.S. team.
From the beginning of the 2019-20 season up until the start of this year, Miller ranked 10th in NHL scoring. However, he’s slumped along this year with just 22 points in 35 games. In fact, he has the same point total as Kiefer Sherwood.
Miller was still named to the team while other talented U.S. players, such as Jason Robertson and Cole Caufield, were left off the roster.
3. Bo Horvat (Canada)
Speaking of surprising players named to Olympic teams, Bo Horvat was arguably the most stunning one named to Team Canada.
However, the nomination wasn’t unwarranted. Hughes’ predecessor to the Canucks’ captaincy is on pace for a career-high 44 goals and 69 points.
4. Pius Suter (Switzerland)
Considering how dire things have been at centre ice for the Canucks, and how bad their penalty kill has been, Vancouver certainly misses Pius Suter.
Although the 29-year-old has cooled down after a hot start, he’s slated to be Switzerland’s second-line pivot behind Nico Hischier.
5. Artūrs Šilovs (Latvia)
Much like Suter, Artūrs Šilovs has also cooled after a strong start to the season. After posting a .920 save percentage in his first 10 starts, the reigning Calder Cup MVP has an ugly .835 save percentage in his last nine appearances.
Other NHL Latvian netminder Elvis Merzlikins hasn’t been much better, with an .877 save percentage this season, compared to .884 for Å ilovs.
Former Canucks draft pick Rodrigo Abols, who currently plays for the Philadelphia Flyers, will also represent Latvia at the Olympics.
6. Elias Lindholm (Sweden)
Short-tenured Canucks centre Elias Lindholm will compete with Elias Pettersson for playing time down the middle at the Olympics.
After scoring against the Canucks on Jan. 3, he now has seven goals and 27 points in 33 games this season.
7. Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Sweden)
Up until Pettersson’s recent point streak, Oliver Ekman-Larsson was the highest-scoring player on the Canucks payroll.
Among defencemen on Sweden’s roster, former Canucks draft pick Gustav Forsling also made the team.
8. Jacob Markstrom (Sweden)
Although Jacob Markstrom just endured one of the worst appearances in modern NHL history, he was still named to Sweden’s Olympic team.
He’ll compete for playing time with Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt, both of whom have outplayed the 34-year-old this season.
9. Nicklas Jensen (Denmark)
Time for the deep dives.
The Canucks selected Nicklas Jensen in the first round, 29th overall, back in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He played 24 games for the Canucks across three seasons before being traded to the New York Rangers for Emerson Etem back in 2016. Jensen played seven more NHL games for the Rangers before going back to Europe.
The now 32-year-old spent five years in the KHL before spending the last four years in Switzerland. A hand injury has limited him to just eight games this season.
10. Marc Michaelis (Germany)
Speedster Marc Michaelis checks in as the former Canuck with the fewest number of NHL games played. He suited up for 15 games with Vancouver during the 2020-21 season. Those were the only NHL games he played.
Michaelis has carved out a decent career overseas, where he now plays for his hometown in Germany.