10 Former Canucks Skated In The Preliminary Round Of The 2026 Winter Olympics

The Vancouver Canucks have seven organization representatives currently playing at the 2026 Winter Olympics, though their reach on the games extends past current players. 10 former Canucks, who have played in at least one game with Vancouver in the past, skated in the Olympics’ preliminary round. Seven of these former players will now look to avoid elimination during their qualifier-round games tomorrow. 

Bo Horvat made Canucks fans feel foolish after his first Olympic game with Canada, as the forward scored a beautiful goal that showed shades of his performance for his former team during the 2020 Bubble Playoffs. The New York Islanders centre is currently tied with Sidney Crosby for second on Team Canada in goals and has the second-highest faceoff win percentage through the tournament with 67.86%. 

Horvat and Canada will face the winner of Czechia and Denmark’s qualifier-round game on February 18 at 7:40 am PT. 

As expected, offensive-defenceman dynamo Quinn Hughes is averaging over a point-per-game (four assists) in his Olympic debut year. What may not be as expected is J.T. Miller’s performance on Team USA’s penalty kill, which is currently operating at an effectiveness rate of 100%. Hughes, of course, has led his team in TOI through every game, while Miller’s has hovered around 12–13 minutes per game. USA has been a strong team throughout the tournament, winning all three of their preliminary games and punching themselves a ticket to the quarter-finals, though they may end up with one of the tougher matchups come their next game. 

Hughes, Miller, and USA will face the winner of Sweden and Latvia’s qualifier-round game on February 18 at 12:10 pm PT. 

In Latvia’s first game of the 2026 Winter Olympics, Elvis Merzļikins started in a rough 5–1 outing against Team USA, though the goaltender didn’t play terribly. Former Canucks goaltender Artūrs Šilovs ended up coming in during the third period and has started all of Latvia’s games since then. Through the better-half of two games, Šilovs has stopped 48 of 55 shots faced against Denmark and Germany. If Latvia chooses to keep him as their starter going forward, the road to a medal will only get tougher from here. 

Šilovs and Latvia will face Sweden in a qualifier-round elimination game on February 17 at 12:10 pm PT. 

In Sweden’s first game of the preliminary round, only one former Canuck actually ended up skating in the 5–2 win against Italy. Sweden started goaltender Filip Gustavsson, leaving Jacob Markström on the bench, while Oliver Ekman-Larsson didn’t end up getting any minutes. Since then, both players have gotten the opportunity to play for their team, with Markström stopping 29 of 32 shots faced in a 5–3 win against Slovakia and Ekman-Larsson logging 13:41 minutes in the same game. Elias Lindholm, the other former Canuck on Team Sweden, missed this particular game. 

Lindholm, Ekman-Larsson, and Markström will face Latvia in a qualifier-round elimination game on February 17 at 12:10 pm PT. 

Marc Michaelis only played in 15 games for the Canucks in 2020–21 and has since spent time in both Switzerland and Germany. The forward spent the first couple of games at the 2026 Winter Olympics alongside current Canucks forward Lukas Reichel, though Reichel was moved to a line with Tim Stützle and JJ Peterka in Germany’s 5–1 loss to the U.S. Michaelis’ TOI has slowly progressed throughout the tournament, going from 11:46, to 12:35, to 13:28. 

Michaelis and Germany will face France in a qualifier-round elimination game on February 17 at 3:10 am PT. 

Switzerland has surprised many during the 2026 Winter Olympics, going 1–1–0–1 in a Group A featuring both Canada and Czechia. Part of this success has come from Pius Suter, who scored in two of his team’s three preliminary-round games. The forward has put a total of seven shots on goal during these outings, two of which were three-shot games, while also playing anywhere from 14:11 minutes to nearly 19. The forward has managed to find success in a second-line centre role for his country and will look to continue doing-so in Switzerland’s quest for a medal. 

Suter and Switzerland will face Italy in a qualifier-round elimination game on February 17 at 3:10 am PT. 

One thing that has been very consistent about Denmark in the 2026 Winter Olympics is Nicklas Jensen’s performance stats. Through his team’s three preliminary-round games, Jensen has recorded 12:30, 12:45, and 12:49 minutes played (not in order). He has also registered one shot on goal and exactly 19 shifts in each game. As well, he has remained on Denmark’s second-line alongside Lars Eller and Joachim Blichfield. 

Jensen and Denmark will face Czechia in a qualifier-round elimination game on February 17 at 7:40 am PT. 

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