Earlier this week, the first six players from each of the 12 nations competing for gold in men's ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics were announced.
Two players from the Carolina Hurricanes were among those first selections with Sebastian Aho (Finland) and Frederik Andersen (Denmark) being named to each's respective team.
But who else on the Canes' roster could be making the trip to Italy next year?
Jaccob Slavin (USA)
Slavin is regarded as one of, if not the, best defensive defensemen in the entire NHL and when you're in a format like the Olympics, where superstars are littering nearly every top roster, you need guys who can slow them down.
He was lights out playing that role in the 4 Nations Face-Off for Team USA, leading the team in minutes alongside Minnesota Wild star Brock Faber, and he received universal praise from around the hockey world for what he was able to do.
Fans in Carolina have long known how good Slavin is and, honestly, it was a bit surprising that he wasn't initially named to the USA's roster with the first six selections, but it feels like a bygone conclusion that the veteran blueliner will be there.
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Seth Jarvis (Canada)
Jarvis was a part of the gold-winning Team Canada roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off and he has a good shot at making the Olympic roster too.
The talented winger is coming off of back-to-back 30+ goal seasons and he's proven to be a big-time performer as well with 19 goals and 43 points in 55 career playoff games.
In addition, Jarvis has become one of the game's top two-way wingers, having led the league in shorthanded goals, and he's not afraid to throw his body, battle for pucks and forecheck and backcheck.
He's a versatile player who can do anything that's asked of him whether that's play on the top line and power play or take on more a checking role and grind things out on the penalty kill and those are valuable players to have.
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No Russians
The IIHF already ruled that Russia would not be allowed to participate in the upcoming Olympics so that means that neither Andrei Svechnikov nor Alexander Nikishin, each of whom were more than likely to make the team, won't get the chance to represent their country.
Nikishin played in the 2022 Olympics, as he was still in the KHL at that point, and he took home a silver medal from that trip.
New Faces?
The Canes have a lot of cap space and a willingness to swing big this offseason, so perhaps there'll be someone new coming in that will be an Olympic player as well.
Mitch Marner (Canada), Sam Bennett (Canada) and Nikolaj Ehlers (Denmark) are three of the biggest UFA names heading into the summer and all three would not only look good in Raleigh, but also representing their home countries as well.
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