U.S. men’s hockey — eyes on Canada, always — sets its Olympic roster

Since the Tkachuk brothers captivated the hockey world’s attention with their star turn at the 4 Nations Face-off last February, there’s been an unsubtle countdown to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina.

Brady and Matthew Tkachuk were two of the initial six players named to the United States men’s roster in June, and on Friday morning, USA Hockey announced the rest of the 25 players who will be joining them.

The rivalry between the U.S. and Canada reached a fever pitch at the 4 Nations, when there were three fights in the first nine seconds of a game between the two countries — and the Tkachuks were at the center of it all. The expectation is that, in Milan, the rivalry will be renewed again and the U.S. and Canada will be the top two teams fighting it out for gold.

The pair — one a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Florida Panthers and the other captain for the Ottawa Senators — garnered more attention after 4 Nations and now host a podcast called “Wingmen,” the NHL’s version of the popular “New Heights” podcast with Travis and Jason Kelce, who rose to fame in the NFL. The hype around the Tkachuk brothers, who are the sons of former NHL star Keith Tkachuk, has translated into hype for the United States at the Olympics as a whole.

But the two players will have their hands full as they try to keep pace with Canada in Italy.

“Obviously we’re the two probably biggest names,” U.S. General Manager Bill Guerin said Friday. “But when you look at the rosters for Sweden, Finland, even look at Germany with Leon Draisaitl there, he’s a one-man wrecking ball out there. He can win games on his own. And it’s one-game elimination when you get down to it.

“We can’t look past anybody and we didn’t build our team just to play Canada because we don’t know if we’re going to play Canada. We have other teams in front of us, anywhere. We don’t want to put the cart in front of the horse here. We built the best team possible. … We’re worried about us. Not anybody else.”

Matthew Tkachuk suffered a significant groin injury while playing for the U.S. at the 4 Nations and played through it for the rest of the Panthers’ season, then had surgery over the summer. He has yet to return to game action but is expected to be ready for the Olympics.

Canada announced its Olympic roster this week, a group that includes Capitals winger Tom Wilson and goaltender Logan Thompson.

Only a handful of American players who weren’t on the U.S.’s 4 Nations team were named to its Olympic roster Friday. Buffalo’s Tage Thompson and Utah captain Clayton Keller have joined the roster at forward, replacing Chris Kreider from the 4 Nations group.

“I liked the way we played. Everybody was together. Everybody played the right way,” Guerin said of the decision to keep most of the 4 Nations roster intact.

Guerin praised the 4 Nations group for its ability to follow U.S. Coach Mike Sullivan’s game plan, then took note of something else: the team’s chemistry.

“And I think the chemistry allowed the guys to play the way that they did,” he said.

The inclusion of New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes — the younger brother of defenseman Quinn Hughes, who was named to the Olympic roster in June — will make it two sets of brothers for the United States at the Games. Hughes recently missed several weeks with a hand injury suffered at a team dinner in November, and he was still wearing a brace on his hand as he represented the squad during the roster reveal on the “Today” show Friday morning.

Hughes plays center for the Devils but played on the wing at the 4 Nations, and his versatility as an offensive threat was highlighted by Sullivan, the team’s coach.

“Obviously, Jack is a unique player with his ability to drive offense,” Sullivan said. “One of the things we liked about the way we constructed our lines at the 4 Nations was the size we had down the middle.”

He added, “Having said that, we have had conversations around using Jack in the middle … and will continue to have those conversations leading up to the first game. We’ll make decisions as we go. We know that’s an option.”

On defense, Adam Fox is not returning from the 4 Nations roster, a snub that was reported before the roster’s official release and has stirred debate in hockey circles. Jason Robertson is another controversial exclusion at forward; Robertson was not on the 4 Nations roster but is second among Americans in the NHL this year with 23 goals.

Guerin declined to discuss the specifics of players who didn’t make the roster. But when asked specifically about Fox’s play on Connor McDavid’s gold medal-winning goal at the 4 Nations, he disagreed with the premise that it kept Fox off the Olympic team.

“If you think we made a decision on one play, then you must not think we’re very smart,” Guerin said. “So other than that, I’m going to keep those conversations private. Our decision was made and we’re moving forward.”

Building out the roster, Guerin said, was about constructing a top-to-bottom team, not making a list of the players with the best statistics.

“Listen, there are so many guys that are not on this roster that could be on this roster,” Guerin said. “I understand that. Those decisions don’t come lightly. Take my word. Those are not fun phone calls to make. But in the end, we have a job to do and we’re putting together a team. Not just a group of individuals. It’s a team.”

U.S. men’s hockey Olympic roster

Forwards (14): Matt Boldy, Kyle Connor, Jack Eichel, Jake Guentzel, Jack Hughes, Clayton Keller, Dylan Larkin, Auston Matthews, J.T. Miller, Brock Nelson, Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk, Tage Thompson, Vincent Trocheck.

Defensemen (8): Brock Faber, Noah Hanifin, Quinn Hughes, Seth Jones, Charlie McAvoy, Jake Sanderson, Jaccob Slavin, Zach Werenski.

Goaltenders (3): Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger, Jeremy Swayman.