Now that the Canadian Olympic men’s hockey roster has been revealed, let the second guessing begin.
Why didn’t they take an extra power-play quarterback? How could they have left this goalie off who’s having an excellent season? They took too many defensive centres. Most fans no doubt had a problem with at least one or two selections and feel there were some glaring omissions and snubs.
The truth is, there are far more worthy selections than there are roster spots. Canada can take only 25 players to Milan, and there was always going to be a handful who would end up disappointed when the roster was announced.
I’m sure if Canada could, they’d send an entire second team to the tournament. That’s not possible, but it doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun going through the exercise of putting together a Canadian B team of players who didn’t make the cut.
Forwards
Zach Hyman – Wyatt Johnston – Connor Bedard
Travis Konecny – Mark Scheifele – Morgan Geekie
John Tavares – Dylan Strome – Seth Jarvis
Sam Bennett – Ryan O’Reilly – Drake Batherson
Nazem Kadri – Robert Thomas
This is undoubtedly Canada’s deepest position and a second team can still boast plenty of centre depth. Wyatt Johnston and Mark Scheifele have more points this season than any other Canadian skater not named Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Macklin Celebrini or Brad Marchand. Dylan Strome owns the best faceoff winning percentage (58.1 per cent) among centres that have taken 630 draws this year, with Ryan O’Reilly not that far behind. We haven’t even mentioned Connor Bedard, who was one of the most notable omissions from the Canadian team and on pace for 116 points before going down with injury. Add in players like Robert Thomas and John Tavares, and offence won’t be in short supply down the middle from this alternate Canadian group.
There would also be a lot of flexibility with this unit and if foot speed is a concern, players like O’Reilly, and Tavares could be shifted to wing and utilized in the faceoff circle when needed.
Speaking of the wing, there’s a plethora of right-shot options to choose from. Morgan Geekie has 25 goals in 2025-26, second only to MacKinnon and Drake Batherson and Zach Hyman both have averaged a point per game this season. Travis Konecny and Seth Jarvis would also bring invaluable experience that they gained from their best-on-best experience at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
If you’re concerned that this team doesn’t play with enough edge, look no further than Nazem Kadri and Sam Bennett. Kadri could play just about anywhere in the lineup and would give this team an element the A squad has with Tom Wilson. Bennett was also one of Canada’s best players in the 4 Nations final and there are few players that have proven they can rise to the occasion like he has in recent years.
Just missed the cut
It’s crazy that there were actually several very difficult decisions even on a B squad. Case and point, Steven Stamkos just misses out despite a very hot December where he notched 20 points in 16 games. Stamkos is now up to 17 goals, but a slow start hurt his case compared to some of the other selections.
It would’ve been great to include Dylan Guenther, as all he seems to do is score game-winning goals, but the fact that Konecny and Jarvis didn’t make the A squad bumps him out. Mathew Barzal could have easily made it, too. His creativity from the wing is a unique skill, though there’s simply a logjam at that position.
Defence
Jakob Chychrun – Evan Bouchard
Matthew Schaefer – MacKenzie Weegar
Mike Matheson – Noah Dobson
Vince Dunn – Brandon Montour
To say this blue line is offensive minded would be a major understatement. Evan Bouchard certainly has his flaws, but few can quarterback a power play and rack up points like he can from the back end. Despite a slow start, the Edmonton Oilers defenceman ranks fourth among blue-liners in points this season. Jakob Chychrun, on the other side, leads all blue-liners in goals this season with 15 and already has a 20-goal season to his credit. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Chychrun hits 30 this season.
There was a really good argument that Schaefer should’ve been on the Olympic team. He’s had an incredible rookie season to date and this week he became the youngest defenseman in history to reach 25 points. Schaefer has essentially already secured the Calder Trophy unless something unforeseen happens and he would give a Canada B squad incredible skating and puck-moving ability from the back end. Pairing him with a good anchor like Weegar would only allow Schaefer to roam more freely and wreak havoc all over the ice.
The other two pairs of Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson as well as Brandon Montour and Vince Dunn provide a lot of familiarity and chemistry since they play together regularly. They can all move the puck and have good offensive instincts that can support a loaded forward group.
Just missed the cut
Morgan Rielly deserves some consideration here, but the defensive flaws probably outweigh the contributions he could make to a team and blue line already stocked with offensive talent. Same goes for Darren Raddysh, who is having an excellent year. Bowen Byram and Jamie Drysdale have also had strong showings, though they’ve been edged out for more experienced options.
Goalies
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
Jet Greaves
The Canadian crease is not what it once was, but there are a trio of netminders who were left off the Olympic squad having great seasons. Colorado Avalanche teammates Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood have been stellar all year, ranking second and third, respectively, in the NHL in goals-against average. Blackwood (.924) and Wedgewood (.919) also sit top five in save percentage and are a combined 29-2-5. Not too shabby. Of course, a lot of that is aided by a historically good Avalanche start but this B team would be pretty strong, too. Wedgewood and Blackwood have proven they can play behind a great team and simply not give up any bad goals.
It’s rare that a team needs to use their third goalie at these tournaments, but Greaves can easily do the job. He ranks eighth with 15.5 goals saved above expected this season and that’s on a very mediocre Columbus Blue Jackets squad. Put him on this roster which is much stronger and Greaves would be just fine.
Just missed the cut
Samuel Montembeault and Adin Hill were on the 4 Nations squad but both miss the cut for me here. Hill has battled injuries and Montembeault is having a really rough season. In a short two-week tournament, taking the hottest goalies isn’t a bad idea and there are only a handful of netminders that have been more consistent this season than Blackwood, Wedgewood and Greaves.
Final roster
This team is pretty darn good. Not better than the likes of the Canadian A squad, the Americans and Sweden obviously, but they would be a difficult out if they were in the tournament. Who knows, maybe with excellent goaltending and some timely scoring, this Canadian group might even have an outside chance at a medal.
