With the 4 Nations Face-Off wrapping up, we won’t have to wait long to see best-on-best men’s hockey again. In fact, in less than a year we’ll be in the midst of the 2026 Olympic hockey tournament, the first time NHLers have taken part in the Olympics since 2014.
The Olympics offer a much more traditional and legitimate tournament, featuring the 12 best hockey nations in the World instead of just four. In other words, we’ll be seeing plenty of NHLers representing their countries this time around. The Flames in particular should have a much larger representation next year compared to their lone player at the 4 Nations tournament. So who could crack their countries roster? Let’s take a look.
Flames Olympics locks
Slovakia – Martin Pospisil, Samuel Honzek
Martin Pospisil and Sam Honzek certainly aren’t the most high-profile players on the Flames, far from it. However given the incredibly shallow list of NHL players hailing from Slovakia, it’d be a shock not to see both of them make their country’s roster next February. For context, just four Slovak forwards have seen NHL action this year. Pospisil’s 12 points actually rank second among all Slovak forwards behind only Juraj Slafkovsky.
Pospisil has also represented Slovakia at just about every level, most recently playing for the team during 2026 Olympic qualifiers last year. Honzek meanwhile most recently played for the U20 team after playing for the U18 team as well. While he’s still very young, given Slovakia’s lack of NHL talent I’d be shocked to see them leave off a player with NHL games under their belt.
Sweden – Rasmus Andersson
The only Flame at the 4 Nations tournament, Rasmus Andersson seems like an easy pick to make the Swedish roster again in 2026. Even though he played just one game this time around, the fact he was named one of their seven defencemen bodes well for his chances next year. Unless his play completely falls off before then, Andersson will absolutely be representing Sweden again and potentially in a larger role given the age of some of the names above him on the depth chart.
In the mix for a selection
Canada – MacKenzie Weegar
Look, we all know MacKenzie Weegar should’ve been on Canada’s 4 Nations roster. There’s a real argument to be made that the 31-year-old veteran is a top-four Canadian defenceman in the NHL right now. So even if the Canadian brass don’t agree for now, there’s still time for them to come to their senses before the Olympics.
As long as Weegar continues to play as he has since coming to Calgary, you have to think he has a chance at making the Canadian roster, especially after some of the current picks haven’t impressed at the 4 Nations tournament.
As unfortunate as it is to say, Weegar’s chances at making the team next year are likely going to be heavily influenced by the result of the 4 Nations championship game. If Canada loses, there will be plenty of calls to shake up the blueline. If they win, there’s a good chance they keep things status quo for next year even if there are plenty of questionable picks on the backend.
Czechia – Dan Vladar
Much like the Slovaks above, Dan Vladar’s Olympic dreams are very much alive due to the limited amount of options for Czechia. On any of the top rosters, he wouldn’t even get a sniff, but for his home country, there isn’t a ton of competition between the pipes. So far this season his 22 games played rank fifth among Czech-born goalies, as do his seven wins.
He’s far from a lock given his poor play recently, but given the complete lack of depth at the position he’ll always have a chance at making the team. If he can go on a hot streak early next year, there’s a very real chance he will find himself on the team as the third goalie option behind the presumed locks in Karel Vejmelka and Lukas Dostal.
United States – Dustin Wolf
Dustin Wolf may be on the outside looking in right now given the Americans’ immense goaltending depth, but don’t count him out just yet. If he continues his strong play this season and contends for the Calder, he’ll certainly be on the Americans’ radar going into next year. This season he ranks fifth among American-born starting goalies for games played, third for wins, and fifth for save percentage.
With a strong start to 2025–26, all it would take is one of the USA’s current netminders to see a slip in their play for Wolf to be one of the next best options in net. His odds aren’t great, but if there’s anyone who can defy the odds, it’s Wolf and I think he’ll very much be in the mix for a spot.
Longshots from making a national roster
United States – Matthew Coronato
Is Matthew Coronato going to make the second-most stacked roster at the 2026 tournament? Almost certainly not, but I feel like he at least deserves a longshot mention here. The 22-year-old is a having tremendous sophomore season, currently playing at a 22-goal, 49-point pace. If he can take another huge step next year and have a hot start to the season, he may find himself thrown around as a potential depth or extra forward option.
Again, the odds are incredibly low considering just how many great players the Americans have to pick from, but he certainly has the talent to not be a completely impossible option. Remember when Andrew Mangiapane came out of nowhere and was getting very real Team Canada consideration in 2022?
Canada – Jonathan Huberdeau
You have to feel for Jonathan Huberdeau. The veteran forward was pencilled in to make the 2022 team Canada Olympic roster had the NHL attended the event. Instead, Huberdeau missed his opportunity and wasn’t even on the radar for the 4 Nations team just three years later. With that said, his play this season has at the very least nudged open the door for him to not be a complete afterthought next year
Now of course it would take an incredible run from Huberdeau over the next 10–12 months to climb his way back onto the most stacked roster in hockey, but given his history and pedigree, I don’t think his chances are completely zero. You can’t deny his talent when he’s on his game, and for that reason, I think he could be a great fit surrounded by more elite talent. I mean, if Sam Bennett and his career-high 49 points can make the team, anyone can.
Sweden – Mikael Backlund
Despite not making the country’s 4 Nations roster, Mikael Backlund was reportedly one of the Sweden’s top injury replacement options. For that reason, I think there’s still a slim chance the 35-year-old can find his way onto the 2026 Olympic roster. Backlund has a long past of representing Sweden, including captaining the Swedes on their way to gold at the 2018 World Championships. For that reason alone, I think he’ll always have an outside shot at making the team in a veteran, depth role even as he reaches his late 30s.
Even with Backlund in a down year as Father Time catches up, he still ranks 15th in the NHL this season for points among Swedish-born forwards. Given his age by next February, I think his odds are low, but his storied past with Sweden and his veteran presence should give him an outside chance of cracking the team one last time.
Czechia – Adam Klapka
While Czechia has a lot more NHL options up front compared to Slovakia, the talent still dries up pretty quickly. Just nine Czechia forwards have hit double-digit points this season in the NHL, meaning Adam Klapka’s chances aren’t completely zero just yet. For context, there have been just 16 Czechia-born forwards log NHL action this season, with Klapka’s 12 games ranking 14th.
Now there’s the caveat of the Olympics being an IIHF tournament, meaning Czechia will certainly be pulling players from overseas for their team. For that reason, Klapka is in tough to earn a spot given his limited offensive abilities, but the fact he’s played 12 NHL games this year means he at the very least has a non-zero chance of earning a depth role on the team.
Representation at the international stage
The NHL returning to the Olympics is massive for the sport. For the Flames, they have several players that should be selected to play and that’ll make for mixed rooting interests as the tournament is played out.
For now, we have the 4 Nations as a preview, but the real tournament everyone will be watching is less than a year away. We’ll see how rosters are shaped and which Calgary players will in fact get the nod to play for their countries.
