The NHL’s 2025-26 season is fast approaching, as are the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. With that in mind, we’re analyzing each prominent team’s projected rosters. We started the process by looking at Team Canada on Tuesday. And today, it’s Team USA's turn to be examined.
In putting the spotlight on Team USA, we have to say that this American team should be considered a favorite (alongside the Canadians) to win gold at the 2026 Games. This is The Hockey News’ projected 25-man American roster. Injuries and subpar play may alter the roster choices we believe Team USA GM Bill Guerin ultimately will make, but these choices are our best guesstimate as to how it all shakes out.
Team USA Projected Roster
Forwards: Auston Matthews (C), Jack Eichel (C), Jack Hughes (C), J.T. Miller (C), Kyle Connor (LW), Jake Guentzel (LW) Brady Tkachuk (LW), Matthew Tkachuk (LW), Clayton Keller (RW), Tage Thompson (RW), Cole Caufield (RW), Matt Boldy (RW)
Extras: Jason Robertson (LW), Alex Tuch (RW)
The Breakdown: One of the reasons the American team ranks highly with Canada as the odds-on favorites to win gold is its tremendous depth at all positions – and that includes the forwards. Picture a first line of Toronto’s Auston Matthews, Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor, and Utah’s Clayton Keller, and you’ll see why the U.S. has all the firepower they need to be successful.
But it’s the American team’s depth that makes them a co-favorite to win this tournament. When the New York Rangers have star center J.T. Miller essentially on the fourth line, that should underscore how fortunate they are to have this young group of stars growing together and raising the bar of expectation for Team USA.
For extras beyond the first 12 forwards, we’ve gone with Dallas’ Jason Robertson and Buffalo’s Alex Tuch. Robertson is a scoring force who got squeezed out of the top-12 forward unit. And Tuch can also contribute offense, but it’s his size, physical edge and two-way play that sets him apart and makes him the right choice here.
Defensemen: Quinn Hughes, Zach Werenski, Jaccob Slavin, Brock Faber, Adam Fox, Lane Hutson
Extras: Charlie McAvoy, Jake Sanderson
The Breakdown: The early book on Team U.S.A. is that their goaltending is superior to every other country at the Olympics. But from this writer’s perspective, it’s America’s vast supremacy on the blueline that could prove to be their most important feature.
Indeed, when you’ve got a top pair of Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes and Minnesota’s Brock Faber, you almost get giddy at the possibilities. Meanwhile, a second pair of Columbus’ Zach Werenski and the Rangers’ Adam Fox could easily dominate puck possession. And a third pair of Carolina’s Slavin and Montreal’s Lane Hutson might be the most intriguing pair of any we’ll see at the Olympics.
It’s nearly physically painful to not have Bruins veteran Charlie McAvoy not in the U.S.’ top six, but you can’t leave Hutson on the sidelines, even if it means Hutson – a left-shooting D-man – has to play on the right side in the final pairing. But the combined talents of the top-six American defensemen is something to behold. And if the U.S. forwards/Canadian forwards battle is a wash, we’d have to give Team USA the edge as having the best blueliners on the planet right now.
Goaltenders: Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger, Thatcher Demko
The Breakdown: The goaltending depth Team USA has is seriously imposing – to the point that we’re choosing to leave out Bruins veteran Jeremy Swayman and Calgary youngster Dustin Wolf. But once you give Hellebuyck his flowers as the best goalie in the world this past year, and the favorite to be the starter at the Games, you only have two spots left, and Dallas star Jake Oettinger is still likely to be picked for one of them, even if he had a slight letdown in the 2025 post-season.
That third spot, then, is between Vancouver’s Demko, Swayman and Wolf. And we’ve selected Demko, because even if he’s coming off an injury-plagued season, he’s only two years removed from a 51-win season in which his numbers – including a .918 save percentage and 2.42 goals-against average – were stellar. So long as he’s healthy, Demko has the biggest competitive ceiling, and that’s why we’re taking him over Swayman and Wolf.
That said, while goaltending depth is the foundation of this American team, the truth is that Guerin is hoping he doesn’t need to turn to Oettinger or Demko. Right now, the starter’s job is Hellebuyck’s to lose, and we don’t see him losing it. And backed by an incredible defense corps and high-octane offense, Hellebuyck doesn’t need to steal games. In sum, the Americans are a terrifically balanced group, and no one should be shocked if they’re at the top of the championship podium when the Olympics are over.
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