A lot can happen between now and Feb. 11, when the puck drops in the men's hockey tournament at Milano Cortina 2026.
So while Hockey Canada revealed its 25-man roster for the Olympic Games on Tuesday, a "long, but not too long" group of players was asked to function as the team's insurance policy — as long as they stay ready.
While Team Canada's general manager, Doug Armstrong, didn't reveal who those players were, he made it clear that there's no hard and fast rule for how the team will call guys up should emergencies force their hand.
"What we've tried to do is — just to give you an insight into our thought process — is that it's not 'one player out, one player in,'" Armstrong said when asked about the team's standby list. "What we're going to do is say, 'If this style of player gets hurt, we'll have a list of players to look at. If this style of player gets hurt, we'll have a list of players to look at.'
"That list is long, but not too long, because there's a different style of players that we want."
Later, on Real Kyper and Bourne, Armstrong said they're "not going to replace an apple with an orange.
"We're going to try and continue to build the team, and not just the next player."
Players like Connor Bedard — who is dealing with an upper-body injury — Sam Bennett, Mark Scheifele and Matthew Schaefer were among those left off the 25-man crew.
Armstrong didn't specify any of the names on Hockey Canada's standby list. Instead, he said that he reached out to those selected players, asked if they wanted to remain in consideration, and told them to stay ready.
"We've asked the players if they want to stay on that list. Part of the requirement to be on that list is that you have to continue with the testing that the Olympic Committee does," Armstrong said. "And to a man, that I've talked to, they've said they want to stay on the list.
"Everyone hopes that the 25 guys have health until then, but their job is to prepare, that if someone, unfortunately, is injured, they're at the top of that list that we're considering."
While Armstrong did decline to give a precise number of players they're keeping on standby, he did say that his team was going to keep it "comfortable."
"We're comfortable without being obnoxious and asking players to stay on a list when they have no chance."
