Team Canada was the first nation to release their official roster for the 2026 Olympics and there were plenty of Tampa Bay Lightning players on it. Forwards Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel, and Anthony Cirelli were named to the roster (Point was an original six selection back in July) and will be joining Jon Cooper (head coach), Julien BriseBois (Assistant General Manager), and Dr. Ryan Hamilton (Mental Performance Consultant) in Italy during the two-week tournament in February.
The full roster:
Brayden Point – 31 games, 6 goals, 15 assists
Point is an interesting selection. If he hadn’t been one of the initial picks, would he have made the roster after a slow (by his standards) start to the season? Having Jon Cooper and Julien BriseBois on his side probably means yes, but there are some young Canadians staying home (Bedard, Connor) that might have beat him out of a spot based on their performance over the first part of the season.
Brandon Hagel – 33 games, 18 goals, 13 assists
Well, at least there is a very good chance that Hagel can play a few games without getting hit in the head by a punch or an elbow. We won’t see him drop the mitts like he did in the 4 Nations Face-Off last season, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be skating around with his hair on fire in his first Olympic tournament.
Anthony Cirelli – 34 games, 10 goals, 12 assists
Well, if Hagel is going, his buddy Cirelli is going to be there. Of the three Lightning players that were on Canada’s 4 Nations roster, Cirelli was probably the one that was most questionable to make the Olympic roster. However, he is a Jon Cooper Guy and could be a solid fit for a team that needs some defensive reliability.
Canada’s General Manager, Doug Armstrong, singled out Cirelli and Hagel when talking about the importance of special teams,
“You look at Hagel and Cirelli’s penalty killing — it’s exemplary in the NHL, and that’s an area that we wanted to make sure (we addressed). There’s not going to be a lot of power plays, but a power-play goal will count even higher because there’s not that many.”
The overall construction of the Canadian roster indicates that they’re looking for a more-rounded team instead of just throwing the most offensively-talented squad of players. Armstrong talked about Coach Cooper’s input and that part of the selection process involved players that could fill different roles within the team. The ability to move players up and down the line-up has been part of the Lightning’s success over the last decade, and should carry over onto the Olympic team.
If Canada fails to win the gold medal, Armstrong and his staff have left themselves open to criticism, and a couple of the Lightning players could be at the forefront of those discussions.
