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USA, Sweden, and Finland reveal men's Olympic hockey rosters

Preston Hodgkinson
Preston Hodgkinson
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Jan 2 2026, 5:16 pm
USA, Sweden, and Finland reveal men's Olympic hockey rosters
David Kirouac/Imagn Images

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan are starting to take shape for hockey fans.

Canada revealed its men’s Olympic roster on New Year’s Eve, creating controversy with some of its picks. Canada’s biggest rivals, the United States, Sweden, and Finland, have followed suit, showcasing their Olympic rosters on Friday morning.

Like the Canadian team, there were all sorts of snubs made with these rosters as well. All four countries opted to make changes from their 4 Nations squad, meaning that there will be a couple of new matchups come February.

Here is a closer look at how each team will stack up against Canada…

United States

Canada’s main threat at the Olympics will almost certainly be Team USA.

The rivalry between Canada and the United States has been fierce over the past few decades, with the two countries meeting in the Olympic Gold medal game in both 2002 and 2010, with Canada winning both. More recently, Canada defeated the USA in last year’s 4 Nations Face Off championship.

Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, and the Tkachuk brothers will return to help lead the Americans at the Olympics.

Chris Kreider and Adam Fox are the two big omissions from last year’s 4 Nations team. Tage Thompson, Clayton Keller, Jake Sanderson, and Seth Jones are the new additions to the Olympic squad.

It’s a formidable group, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some notable snubs. Jason Robertson has been electric this season for the Dallas Stars, but failed to crack the roster. Team USA also opted to leave out goaltender Thatcher Demko, sniper Cole Caufield, and reigning Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson.

History is on Canada’s side heading into the Olympics, but the United States will be looking to turn the tide this time around.

Sweden

It’s easy to forget that Sweden took home the silver medal the last time NHL players went to the Olympics in Sochi 2014.

A lot of attention has been paid to the Canada/USA rivalry, but hockey fans should not be sleeping on the Swedes. They remain a world-class team and are a very real threat to steal away the Olympic gold, as they did at the Turin 2006 Olympic Games.

William Nylander and Adrian Kempe are the standouts up front, with a veteran blueline headlined by Rasmus Dahlin and Victor Hedman.

There were more than a few notable snubs for the Swedes. The biggest might be leaving out Edmonton Oilers Mattias Ekholm and Calgary Flames captain Mikael Backlund. Viktor Arvidsson, Gustav Nyquist, William Karlsson (injury), and Linus Ullmark are the 4 Nations players who were left off the Olympic squad.

Newcomers include Philip Broberg, Gabriel Landeskog, Rickard Rakell, Pontus Holmberg, Alexander Wennberg, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and goaltender Jesper Wallstedt.

Finland

You can never count out Finland when it comes to international hockey.

The Finns are the scrappy underdog just about every year and are a perennial medal threat at every international tournament they play in. Finland enters the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Games as the defending gold medalists and took home a pair of bronze medals in both 2010 and 2014.

Mikko Rantanen and Sebastian Aho are the big guns up front, with Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell leading the defensive core. Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen, Juuse Saros, and Kevin Lankinen will handle things between the pipes.

An injury will prevent superstar Aleksander Barkov from making the team, which is a significant blow for Finland. Notable snubs from the 4 Nations squad include Patrik Laine, Jusso Välimäki, and Jani Hakanpää.

A total of six new players have cracked the Finn’s roster, which includes Oliver Kapanen, Joel Kiviranta, Eeli Tolvanen, Henri Jokiharju, Mikko Lehtonen, and Nikolas Matinpalo.

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