6 thoughts on Canada’s first choices for Olympics roster

The 4 Nations Face-Off was a reminder of how incredible best-on-best hockey can be, and that was just the appetizer. Next year, NHL players will return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014 at the Milano Cortina Winter Games in February.

On Monday, the 12 teams competing in the Olympic tournament announced the first six players who will be on their rosters. For Canada, those six players are: Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point and Sam Reinhart.

Now that those six names are locked in, here are six thoughts on Canada’s early roster decisions.

1. On the Sam Reinhart selection

There was never going to be much controversy with Canada’s first six picks, because there are four locks, and Point is damn near in the class too. McDavid, Crosby, MacKinnon or Makar weren’t being left off.

And so, there was basically one spot with which to “choose” a player, and Canada “settled” for a battle-tested scorer who’s tallied 113 goals over the past two regular seasons and playoffs (combined). Oh, and that guy also finished second in Selke voting this past year, too. Not exactly a shocking pick.

If you wanted to make an argument for anyone, maybe you’d make it for Sam Bennett, whose big game moxie was on full display at the 4 Nations Face-Off when he scored one of the biggest goals of the tournament. That momentum has continued with 15 goals in these playoffs, making Bennett the favourite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Maybe you’d say Brad Marchand, who was in the initial six last year, and is the second most likely player to win the Conn Smythe right now by betting odds. Maybe you like Brandon Hagel, or Mitch Marner, or Josh Morrissey, or, or, or. But whoever your “or” is, Team Canada had at least another five or six names to choose from that would’ve been just fine. Reinhart was the right call by me, but it should be at least close enough for everyone.

2. Canada likely wasn’t that close to choosing a goalie

The 4 Nations selections for Canada’s goalie were far from obvious, though they did end up choosing the guy with arguably the most pedigree in Jordan Binnington. And, they stuck with him, while in return getting rewarded by the long-time Blues keeper, whose ability to handle pressure in big games is as good as any goalie out there.

But past ol’ Binnington, the right to play goal for Canada at the Olympics is very much an open tryout. That includes him, to be frank, as he’s not exactly a lock either. He’ll get more grace, but not infinitely so.

Logan Thompson, Adin Hill, Darcy Kuemper, Mackenzie Blackwood, and Samuel Montembeault are just some of the contenders, but they’re all in the maybe pile as of today. Only Binnington earns the coveted “probably” here.

3. 4 Nations ‘fringe’ selections have work to do to get to the Olympics

Some names that people weren’t 100 per cent sure about that made the 4 Nations squad: Seth Jarvis, Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, Colton Parayko and Thomas Harley (as an injury replacement).

Jarvis and Konecny weren’t given a ton of opportunity up front, and they’ll have to re-earn their spots at the start of next season. Jarvis ended up with a few scoring chances but didn’t look confident enough to do much with them, which is why Canada gave some of the young guys the opportunity in the first place. We’ll see if he uses that to his advantage. Konecny, meanwhile, never quite found his fit.

As for the D, Parayko was a rock for Canada and a huge part of their success. Sanheim was very good too, and in the games Harley played, you can make the case that he was among Canada’s best players. With Makar and Devon Toews, along with Josh Morrissey, it’s gonna be real tough to crack the back end for Canada if all those guys are healthy.

However, after two deep playoff runs, Evan Bouchard’s all-around play may have earned enough respect for it to be impossible to overlook his elite offensive game. Noah Dobson could very well bounce back and get a nod, too. Competition will be fierce.

4. Experience versus energy

One thing to keep an eye on is how old is considered too old for Canada? Crosby was still a first-page-of-the-scoring-leaderboard player last year, so he’s a no-brainer. But is Drew Doughty — an exceptional Canadian player over the years — going to age out? Or is he going to put together a big off-season and a great start next year to work his way back? Is Mark Stone going to be able to keep up in an event that, in the biggest games, will be faster than the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Can he even be healthy enough to prove that he can (a question that goes double for his teammate Alex Pietrangelo)? Brad Marchand is probably fine, but you never know.

My guess is the Canadian brass would rather take all those guys and get their experience and decision-making rather than try out younger, faster (but less experienced) players. But it’s a sliding scale, and you can only slow down so much before it doesn’t matter how smart you are.

5. Who didn’t get chosen the first time around

There were moments watching the 4 Nations Face-off where Jarvis was trying to get comfortable, and Konecny was trying to find a role, that it felt crazy that Mark Scheifele wasn’t out there. He’s a competitor, too, and for whatever other shortcomings Canada’s management deemed him to have, he should’ve been there. And next year, I think he starts the season in pencil as a part of the group who will get picked.

If Canada needs role players, Zach Hyman certainly would be a welcome addition, and the way he scores goals (in the paint) means he’s always a prime candidate to score one in a big moment.

A case could be made for Tom Wilson, too, or perhaps a young star like Connor Bedard or Macklin Celebrini has the type of breakout necessary to get the nod.

Among forwards for sure, the battle will be waged right up until rosters are due.

6. Canada is one of the few teams for whom these initial announcements are borderline irrelevant

I opened this column implying that Canada had plenty to choose from and couldn’t have gone wrong, really. No other country can say that.

For example: The United States made a profound statement by leaving off Connor Hellebuyck, the NHL’s Hart Trophy and Vezina winner. He was far from bad in the 4 Nations event, and that they’re not picking him as a lock at this point could be seen as a fairly brazen insult, were he a prideful fellow. I’m guessing Charlie MacAvoy’s pick could’ve waited?

Yes, the U.S. has great goaltending options in Jake Oettinger, Thatcher Demko, Jeremy Swayman and Dustin Wolf, but again: This guy is the NHL’s Hart Trophy winner.

And that’s just to make my point. Canada manages to make their first six picks without any hurt feelings or storylines, loaded with no-brainer players, while looking forward to the first few months of the season to make the remainder of their selections.

International hockey makes continental hockey more fun in that very way, and so while teams have locked in their first six players, we’re locked in for an exciting first few months of the 2025-26 season.