How Every Men's Hockey Nation Can Win Gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics
How every nation (within reason) can win gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The 2026 Winter Olympics are here, and NHL players will be participating in the men’s hockey event for the first time in 12 years.
Let’s dive into how each nation (within reason, meaning no, Denmark, France, Italy, Latvia, or Slovakia) can win gold.
Canada
First up, we have Canada, which has taken home the last two gold medals with NHLers at the Olympics (2010, 2014). With many of the best players in the sport, their case for gold is clear—they should be the ones taking it home.
Canada has a good mix of pure superstar talent and complementary pieces. Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid are the obvious game-breakers, sitting first and second in NHL scoring. Keep an eye out for 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini, who isn’t far behind.
From the first line to the extras, most of the players are capable of being the top player on a competitive NHL team. The defense and goaltending are the weak points of the roster, yet they are still superior to every nation except for one or two.
When the elimination round begins, Canada will need its superstars to play like it. But there shouldn’t be many issues on that front.
Czechia
Czechia’s case is a bit less obvious. But they do have a gold medal at the Winter Olympics to their name in best-on-best fashion, back in 1998. While that team had better skater depth, one player—Dominik Hašek—stole the show. We could see the same happen in 2026.
The Czechs will be led up front by superstar David Pastrňák, who ranks fifth in NHL points since 2022–23. If you look at the Boston Bruins’ current roster, it may be a surprise that they have the 10th-best record in the league. The driver of that has been Pastrňák, who has 22 goals and 49 assists in 52 games.
In theory, if he can carry a relatively tame Boston Bruins team to explosive performances against contenders in the East, he can do the same on the international stage.
He’ll be joined by Martin Nečas, arguably a superstar in his own right, and Tomáš Hertl. On the blue line, Filip Hronek has been one of the few bright spots for the Vancouver Canucks, and Radko Gudas can provide a veteran shutdown presence.
Czechia is fairly crowded between the pipes, with Lukáš Dostál, Karel Vejmelka, and Dan Vladař all being reliable starters on their respective teams.
Do the Czechs outclass nations like Canada? No, they don’t. But there’s enough talent here to pull off an upset.
Finland
