We’re still months away from the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, but there’s plenty of news to focus on – most notably, Hockey Canada's men's Olympic orientation camp invitations that went out Friday. Let’s break down the 42 men’s players invited to the camp into three reaction points, and see what the strategy is from Canada’s management team, including GM Doug Armstrong of the St. Louis Blues, and coach Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning:

1. Success Matters, But It Isn’t Everything

The players invited to camp are about as accomplished as it gets. Whether it’s Pittsburgh Penguins superstar center Sidney Crosby, Florida Panthers winger Brad Marchand, Colorado Avalanche superstar defenseman Cale Makar, Edmonton Oilers superstar center Connor McDavid or Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, 19 of the invitees have been Stanley Cup champions, while 24 players were part of Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off championship this year.

Still, that doesn’t mean you necessarily have to be a Cup-winner to get an invite to Canada’s orientation camp. You could have success in other tournaments to be an Olympics invitee. Florida’s Aaron Ekblad and Calgary’s Mackenzie Weegar have won gold at the IIHF World Championship, but weren’t on the 4 Nations Face-Off team. And 13 Canadian invitees – including Chicago’s Connor Bedard, Los Angeles’ Quinton Byfield and Drew Doughty, Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey and Toronto’s John Tavares – have won gold at the IIHF World Championship. That’s an incredibly deep roster, no matter how you cut it. And some very talented players won’t make the eventual cut to be Olympians in 2026.

2. Goaltending Will Still Be A Focus For Canada

Heading into the 4 Nations Face-Off, pundits and fans were concerned about Canada’s group of goaltenders. However, when the rubber hit the road, Binnington proved to be a clutch performer and a needle-mover in high-stakes situations. Binnington is now the clear-cut pick to at least start the Olympics, but after that, there are still the same two goalies – Montreal’s Montembeault, and Vegas’ Adin Hill – who were on the 4 Nations roster.

We can’t presume Binnington will wobble at the Olympics, but if he does, Canadian fans will have heart palpitations over who should step in and replace him. From this writer’s perspective, Hill should be the understudy ready to play in place of Binnington, as he’s won a Cup and had a good season as a workhorse in Vegas, appearing in 50 games and posting a .906 save percentage and 2.47 goals-against average. And if Montembeault winds up playing, something will have gone horribly wrong for Canada’s netminding picture.

Other Olympic teams have the edge in netminding, as the U.S. has a slew of options that have made terrific accomplishments, but the Canadian goalie picture already looks etched in stone, and Armstrong clearly has faith in Binnington to get the job done once again.

3. Canada’s Defense Will Leave Some Veterans Disappointed And Off The Olympic Roster

We’re still of the opinion the American team will have the best group of defensemen, but very quietly, Armstrong has invited 12 blueliners to compete for an Olympic roster spot.

Makar, Doughty, Philadelphia’s Travis Sanheim, St. Louis’ Colton Parayko, Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey, Colorado’s Devon Toews and Dallas’ Thomas Harley all played well at the 4 Nations Face-Off, so it will be difficult to cut any of them at the Olympics. That means players like Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard, Seattle’s Brandon Montour and Montreal’s Noah Dobson are all on the bubble.

If one of Canada’s established defensemen gets injured at or during the Olympics, Armstrong is going to have a deep group of prospective injury replacements to tap into. But if everyone’s healthy, there will be a good number of veteran star D-men who won’t be playing in Italy.

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