Team Canada Snubs Bedard, Adds Macklin Celebrini And Some Tom Wilson Grit For 2026 Olympics

The Olympics are just weeks away, and especially with NHL players making their long-awaited return, two rosters are going to get a lot of attention: Team USA and Team Canada.

Team USA will be announced later this week, while Team Canada was announced early in the day on New Year's Eve, and there were certainly some surprises as far as who was in and who was left off the roster.

Now, this is a big tournament for Hockey Canada, as they've struggled on the international stage as of late. They've had back-to-back disappointments at the World Junior Championships in 2024 and 2025, and a huge letdown at the World Championships last spring.

The bright spot was a win in the 4 Nations Face-Off over Team USA, and so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that a big chunk of the roster is the same, with shoo-ins like Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar making the cut, no problemo.

In fact, the entire blue line is the same as it was for the 4 Nations.

This means all the changes are up front and in the net. 

The only forwards added to the roster who didn't appear in the 4 Nations tournament are San Jose's Macklin Celebrini, Montreal's Nick Suzuki, Islander Bo Horvat, and Capitals tough guy, Tom Wilson.

Yes, that Tom Wilson.

Florida's Sam Bennett and Philadelphia's Travis Konecny were both left off the Olympic roster despite being at the 4 Nations. Both got off to slow starts to this season, which likely hurt their case, especially when you have strong seasons from Celebrini and Wilson. The latter, believe it or not, is scoring at an almost point-per-game clip.

Turn Wilson loose on that smaller ice sheet and look out. Expect physicality to be a big part of Canada's game, especially if and when they bump into the Americans.

Connor Bedard is probably wondering what he has to do to crack a Team Canada roster. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images)

Connor Bedard Gets Snubbed Again

There are some serious snubs thought, with the biggest being Connor Bedard, who also failed to make the 4 Nations roster. He's currently injured, and perhaps that was a factor, but he's easily on pace for a career year with 44 points in only 31 games. For me, this was the biggest head-scratcher. 

Team Canada is deep up the middle, but still, this is a shocker. 

Another surprise is Islanders rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer. Sure, he's young, but 25 points in 40 games in a rookie campaign should've raised some eyebrows. 

Canada leaned into veterans, which I get. However, I also think getting some future stars, like Bedard and Schaefer, and some Olympic reps would've been a good idea.

But, I suppose if Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong was pleased with a lot of his team playing in the 4 Nations, why change?

The biggest change comes in net, which has been Canada's weakness on the international stage over the last few years.

Adin Hill and Sam Montembeault will stay home, while Jordan Binnington is back, despite a 3.44 GAA and an .870 save percentage this season. You've got to think he's back for helping to win the 4 Nations. Meanwhile, they add Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper and Washington's Logan Thompson, the latter of whom many argue should've been on the 4 Nations roster. 

You've got to figure that they'll lean on a Kuemper/Thompson tandem barring anything catastrophic.

Despite the snubs, this is a solid roster that keeps the parts of the 4 Nations-winning team that worked intact, while fixing some shortcomings.

At least on paper, Canada will be expected to, at the absolute least, make the medal round, and probably the gold medal game.

Anything else will be considered a massive disappointment.