As the sun blazes down in the midst of another hot summer, it’s hard to wrap a sunburned head around the fact that the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy are roughly eight months away. That means the national teams have to start figuring out who is going to play hockey for them. With the NHL returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2014, that means several Tampa Bay Lightning players will be making the trip overseas to play for flag and country. On Monday, the 12 teams competing for the gold, silver, and bronze medals released an initial roster of six players each. As expected, the Bolts were well represented.
Group A
Team Canada:
Brayden Point – This will be Point’s first Olympics, but he has worn Team Canada’s jersey several times in his career. He’s represented them at the World Junior’s (both Under-20 and Under-18), the World Championship (2017), and, most recently, at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Chances are he’ll be joined by Brandon Hagel once the full roster is released. Will Anthony Cirelli make it a trio? Team Canada assistant general manager Julien BriseBois and head coach Jon Cooper will be lobbying for him.
Czechia:
No current Lightning players, but old friends Radko Gudas and Ondrej Palat are on the roster. Barring any trades or free agent signings, the Lightning probably won’t have a player on the roster as Gabriel Szturc is the only Czech player in the system.
France:
Again, no Lightning players with the intense probability that there will be none. However, old friend Pierre-Edouard Bellemare will represent his home country.
Switzerland:
No one as of yet, but there is a better than good chance that J.J. Moser is skating with the national team next season.
Group B:
Finland:
Joona Saarelainen or Niko Huuhtanen would would have to play transformational hockey in the fall to get a chance to make the Finnish roster.
Italy:
If you’re looking for an underdog team to root for next winter, Italy is your team. No NHL players will dot their roster (although Damian Clara is a goaltending prospect for Anaheim).
Slovakia:
Erik Cernak – Like Point, this will be Cernak’s first Olympics, but he had a ton of international experience as a junior. He represented Slovakia in four U20 World Juniors as well as playing for the U20 team in two different years.
Sweden:
Victor Hedman – There is a very good chance that Hedman will repeat his role as captain for Team Sweden. If he is, it’ll be sweet, sweet redemption after he was left off of the 2014 Olympic roster. Sweden is always a threat internationally, so he’ll add an Olympic gold medal to his collection which already contains a Hlinka-Gretzky and World Championship gold. Oh yeah, and those two Stanley Cups.
Group C
Denmark
Oliver Bjorkstrand- Despite being a staple on the international circuit during his younger years, Bjorkstrand is still seeking his first medal of any type. He does have an AHL championship and a Danish league championship on his resume, though.
Germany
Unless they pull off a trade for J.J. Peterka, it’s another country that isn’t going to be represented by a member of the Lightning.
Latvia
Zemgus Girgensons – the only Lightning member named to a team today that has previous Olympic experience, Girgensons was on Team Latvia in 2014 (where he scored against Henrik Lunqvist).
The initial reaction almost everyone had to this roster was release was, “Huh, didn’t know Teddy Blueger was Latvian.”
United States
Expect Jake Guentzel to be on the roster. Sadly, the Lightning’s most recent Olympian, Nick Perbix, won’t be on the roster (or with the Lightning) when the tournament starts. Could Ryan McDonagh make the squad? In almost any prior Olympic year the answer would probably be yes, but there are so many good, young American defensemen, it’ll be hard for him to crack the line-up. Charlie McAvoy and Quinn Hughes are part of the six players named today. Zach Werenski, Lane Huston, Jake Sanderson, and Adam Fox are probably locks to join them. Brock Faber, K’Andre Miller, Jaccob Slavin, and Noah Hanifin are some other names just off the top of the head that should be competing for a spot.
