USA Names First 6 Members for 2026 Winter Olympics Squad

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USA Hockey has announced the first six members who will participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics. The rest of the roster will be announced later in the year.

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games will take place from Feb. 6 to 22, 2026, in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The men’s ice hockey tournament will be staged in Milan. While the Groups have been set, the final competition schedule is yet to be announced.

Group A: Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, France
Group B: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Italy
Group C: U.S., Germany, Latvia, Denmark

Here is a quick look at the first six players named to Team USA’s roster for the 2026 Olympics.

Matthew Tkachuk

Tkachuk was an emotional leader for the Americans during the 4 Nations Face-Off, but his time in the tournament was shortened due to an injury. Tkachuk first experienced discomfort during his preliminary contest against Canada. He returned for the Championship game but was limited to 6:47 of ice time in the United States’ 3-2 finals loss against Canada. The injury forced him to miss the rest of the Florida Panthers’ regular season, but he did return for the first round of the playoffs. He has seven goals and 15 assists in the playoffs as the Panthers are currently one game away from winning their second-straight Stanley Cup.

Auston Matthews

Matthews had a bit of a down year but recently revealed that he dealt with an injury for most of the season. Instead of taking extended time off, Matthews tried everything including time away from the lineup and special treatments in Germany to get back to full strength. But the injury lingered, chipping away at the most essential parts of his game. He dropped to a 12.6% shooting percentage, a clear dip from his usual elite numbers. He only scored 33 goals in 67 games, a sharp fall from the previous season’s historic tally.

Jack Eichel

Eichel led the Vegas Golden Knights with a career-high 94 points (28 goals, 66 assists) in 77 games this season, the highest point total in team history and eighth in the NHL. Eichel’s 66 assists, 30 multi-point games, and 34 points on the power play were all career-highs for the forward as well as franchise records for Vegas. He had four assists in the 4 Nations Face-Off and was widely praised for his outstanding two-way play.

Brady Tkachuk

Tkachuk, the captain of the Ottawa Senators, was selected fourth overall by the Senators in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He has 404 points (191 goals, 213 assists) in 512 games to go along with 1,759 hits since entering the NHL in the 2018-19 season, with his hit total second behind only Radko Gudas (1,829). The 25-year-old had 55 points (29 goals, 26 assists) in 72 games this season and had four goals in six games in his first experience in the playoffs. On the international stage, Tkachuk, who hails from Scottsdale, Arizona, won gold at the 2017 Under-18 Worlds, bronze at the 2018 World Junior Championship (WJC) and had three goals in four games for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Quinn Hughes

Hughes won the Norris Trophy last season and was a finalist for the second time this season. He was initially named to the roster for the 4 Nations, but an injury forced him to withdraw. Hughes has been one of the best defensemen in the NHL since entering the League in 2019 and won the 2024 Norris Trophy after putting up 92 points (17 goals, 75 assists) in 82 games. He still had 76 points (16 goals, 60 assists) this season despite being limited to 68 games for the Vancouver Canucks.

Charlie McAvoy

McAvoy is an alternate captain for the Boston Bruins and was selected by then in the first round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft (14th overall). McAvoy has been consistent on each side of the ice throughout his eight NHL seasons; he had 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in 63 games this season and has 300 points (60 goals, 240 assists) in 504 games. The 27-year-old from Long Beach, New York, played for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and the WJC twice (2016 bronze; 2017 gold) and the World Championship twice (2017; 2018 bronze).

The NHL has confirmed its players will participate in both the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympic Games. NHL players have previously participated in five Olympic Winter Games, including in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014.

Stay tuned to The Hockey Writers for all Olympic coverage.

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