Although the 2024 Summer Olympics may not feature ice hockey, they allow us to think ahead to the 2026 Winter Olympics, when NHL players will be allowed to participate in the tournament for the first time since 2014. The rosters for the competition will not be announced for some time, allowing for speculation on who will make the final cut. Like all NHL teams, players from the San Jose Sharks hope to represent their countries on the international stage, and a handful will likely have a chance. Let’s take a look at a few current Sharks who could make their nation’s Olympic roster in 2026.
Nico Sturm, Germany
Given his recent status on the German national team, forward Nico Sturm is a strong candidate for their 2026 Olympic lineup. As a member of the Sharks, he has established himself as a strong bottom-six forward when healthy. He is an elite face-off man and solid penalty killer who has provided much-needed veteran stability during a difficult period for the franchise.
In international play, however, he has offered even more. He competed for Germany in both the 2023 and 2024 World Championships, winning the silver medal in the former. That year, he was one of Germany’s best offensive players, scoring six goals in 10 games, a rate unlike anything he’s managed in his professional career. The 2024 edition wasn’t as successful as Germany finished sixth, but he managed a goal and two assists in six games.
Over the last two years, Sturm has made himself an integral part of Germany’s international hockey efforts. Barring any injuries, he should be able to continue that part of his journey in 2026 with his first Olympic appearance.
Jan Rutta, Czechia
Defenseman Jan Rutta has already reached one summit of international hockey, winning the 2024 World Championship with Czechia, although he did not play in the gold medal game. In total, he has appeared in 27 games for the senior national team, putting him in consideration for a spot on the 2026 roster.
Related: Bruins Candidates for the 2026 Winter Olympics
Rutta will be 35 when the Olympics get underway, so there is a chance that the Czech team will want some younger players on the blue line instead. But his play in San Jose showed that he can still provide some value, not only as a veteran presence but also as a penalty killer and a defensive defenseman. International teams need those kinds of players just as much as NHL teams do, and Czechia could turn to Rutta to fill that role.
Mikael Granlund, Finland
The most internationally experienced player — and the only player with Olympic experience — on this list, forward Mikael Granlund holds a 2014 Olympic bronze medal and three World Championship medals in 66 games with the Finnish senior national team. And he wasn’t just along for the ride, either — he averaged a point per game or better in five different tournaments. Most recently, he recorded five assists in seven games at the 2024 World Championship.
His presence at the latest international tournament indicates that he’s still very much on Finland’s radar when it comes to selecting players, and his performance during the 2023-24 NHL season likely bolstered his standing. He led San Jose in points and put together some of the best offensive stretches of his career. Despite the difficult season for the Sharks as a team, he often rose above the chaos to turn in his best effort possible and offer some crucial offense. His professionalism and production on a bad team likely gave the Finnish Ice Hockey Association even more confidence in his abilities and demonstrated his value to their team for 2026.
Macklin Celebrini, Canada
Forward Macklin Celebrini will only be 19 when the Olympics take place, but he’s already come tantalizingly close to a spot on Canada’s senior national team. Already a consistent presence on their junior teams in recent years, he earned a spot on their 2024 World Championship roster, only to depart a few days later when more experienced players joined the squad.
Celebrini projects as an elite two-way forward in the NHL, but he hasn’t played a single game for the Sharks yet. He’ll need to live up to expectations to give himself a chance at an Olympics roster spot, especially given the number of excellent active Canadian players. But his near-appearance at the World Championship shows how highly Hockey Canada already thinks of him, and suggests they’ll be watching him closely in the lead-up to the tournament in Italy. If he can be the player that San Jose hopes he will, he could carve out a spot as the promising young player to whom Canada gives an opportunity to prove himself among more established veterans.
Sharks’ Potential Olympians Highlight Uncertainty
Of the four players discussed here, all but Celebrini will be unrestricted free agents in 2025. The Sharks are still trying to determine what their next contending roster will look like, meaning none of the three are certain to return. Furthermore, with the possible exception of Granlund, none of the players necessarily project as among the best players on their team, showing the question marks surrounding not only the construction of San Jose’s roster but the quality as well.
A few current Sharks players will have the opportunity to play at the highest level of international hockey in 2026. But how many of them are still on the Sharks roster at that time, and who else in San Jose’s system might prove themselves worthy of an Olympics spot before then, remains to be seen.
