13 Former Canucks Taking Part In 2026 Winter Olympics

Six current members of the Vancouver Canucks will be heading to Italy to play in the 2026 Winter Olympics in February. Joining them in their quest for Gold is a crop of former Canucks who have also been named to their respective countries’ Olympic rosters. Here’s a breakdown of all former Canucks who are expected to take part in the 2026 Winter Olympics. 

Sweden Leads The Way In Former Canucks Numbers With Four 

Current Canuck Elias Pettersson will not be in unfamiliar surroundings when playing with Team Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics. He’ll be joined by four former Canucks, all of whom he has played with either internationally or with Vancouver. 

The first player to join the Canucks on Team Sweden’s current roster was none-other than current New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markström. Markström spent around seven seasons in the Canucks organization, playing regularly in five of them, and was one of Vancouver’s key veterans by the time Pettersson began playing in the NHL. In his time with the Canucks, Markström recorded 99 wins and put together an overall a goals-against average of 2.81 and a .902 SV%. He signed a six-year deal with the Calgary Flames back in 2020 and was moved to New Jersey in June 2024. Markström has represented Sweden at the IIHF World Championship five times, played at the U20 World Junior Championship twice, and took part in the World Cup of Hockey in 2017. 

The next member of Team Sweden who’d joined the Canucks was Gustav Forsling, who has become a key member of the Florida Panthers as of late. The defenceman was selected in the fifth round of the 2014 NHL Draft by Vancouver but was flipped to the Chicago Blackhawks in January of 2015 in exchange for Adam Clendening. Forsling never ended up playing a game for the Canucks, but has since found his share of NHL success by winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Panthers. Like Pettersson, he was part of Sweden’s 4 Nations Faceoff roster last year. 

Another former Canuck who will represent Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics is Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Acquired by Vancouver in 2021 alongside Conor Garland, Ekman-Larsson’s time with the Canucks lasted only two seasons before the organization bought him out. While Ekman-Larsson has also found success since parting ways with the Canucks, having won a Stanley Cup with the Panthers and experienced somewhat of a career-renaissance, he was a bit of a polarizing figure in his time with Vancouver solely due to his salary. This will be Ekman-Larsson’s second time representing Sweden at the Olympics, as he was part of his team’s roster during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. 

The final member of Team Sweden who also played with the Canucks in the past is Elias Lindholm, whose tenure in Vancouver only lasted 26 regular season games. A playoff-push acquisition, Lindholm was flipped to the Canucks in January of 2024 in preparation for Vancouver’s playoff run in April. The forward dealt with a wrist injury during his time with the Canucks but was still very effective during their playoff run, scoring five goals and five assists in 13 games played. During the 2024 off-season, he signed a seven-year, $7.75M AAV deal with the Boston Bruins. Lindholm has represented Sweden seven times: once at the 4 Nations Faceoff, four times at the World Championships, and twice at the U20 World Junior Championship. 

Latvia Will Be Represented By Two Former Canucks 

One current member of the Canucks is on Latvia’s 2026 Winter Olympic roster, Teddy Blueger, though his health will ultimately dictate whether he ends up playing for them or not. Aside from Blueger, two former Canucks have also been listed as part of Team Latvia. 

When Artūrs Šilovs was named to Latvia’s 2026 Winter Olympic roster, he was still a member of the Canucks. The goaltender was coming off a Calder Cup win with the Abbotsford Canucks in which he was named MVP, but soon found himself in a cluttered goaltending cabinet that would likely only result in him heading back to the AHL for another season. As a result, the sixth-round pick of the 2019 NHL Draft was moved to the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he now plays regularly at the NHL level. Šilovs has been a big name in Latvia’s international hockey scene within the past few years, as he helped backstop them to their first medal at the World Championship in 2023. 

Šilovs will not be the only former Canuck to represent Latvia, as Philadelphia Flyers forward Rodrigo Ābols has also been named to his team’s 2026 Winter Olympic roster. Ābols was selected in the seventh round of the 2016 NHL Draft but did not make his NHL debut until January of 2025. While he was a Canucks draft pick, he never ended up playing a game for the Canucks organization, and was later signed by the Flyers in free-agency. 2026 will not be Ābols’ first Olympics, as he also represented Latvia in 2022. 

One Year Ago Today, These Two Members Of Team USA Were Part Of The Canucks Organization 

Team USA does not have any current Canucks listed on their roster anymore. One year ago today, however, two of the U.S.’s players were still playing in Vancouver, with one a member of the team as recently as December. 

The most recent captain of the Canucks, Quinn Hughes was named to Team USA’s 2026 Winter Olympic roster back in June. The James Norris Memorial Trophy winner of 2024 was traded to the Minnesota Wild on December 12 and has since scored a goal and 11 assists in 11 games played with his new team. Hughes spent the better-half of eight seasons with the Canucks, racking up a healthy collection of franchise records during his tenure. While he was named to the U.S.’s 4 Nations Faceoff roster last year, an injury prevented him from competing for his team. The defenceman has represented Team USA twice at the World Championships and twice at the U20 World Juniors. 

Former Canuck J.T. Miller competed for Team USA at the 4 Nations Faceoff last year, but with how his regular-season play had gone throughout the start of 2025–26, many began to pencil other players into his potential spot on the U.S.’s Olympic roster. Having said that, Miller was ultimately named to Team USA alongside former Canucks teammate Hughes. This will be Miller’s first time representing the U.S. at the Olympics, though he has also played for Team USA at the U20 World Juniors. He also played for Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey back in 2016–17. 

One Former Canucks Captain And One Former Canucks Head Coach Will Represent Canada At The Olympics 

Before the start of the 2025–26 season, there probably weren’t many people who had Bo Horvat on Canada’s 2026 Winter Olympic roster — not a slight to Horvat, but a sign of how deep Canada’s forward core is. However, an impressive offensive tear to start the season has seen Horvat score 21 goals and 12 assists in 36 games played for the New York Islanders, helping him along to his first Winter Olympics. This will be Horvat’s fourth time representing Canada internationally, as he has also played for his country in two World Championships and one U20 World Juniors. 

Joining Horvat as a member of Team Canada is a former Canucks Head Coach who only coached the former captain for three games. Rick Tocchet was named an Assistant Coach for Team Canada back in July, joining a staff including Head Coach Jon Cooper and Asisstant Coaches Bruce Cassidy, Peter DeBoer, and Misha Donskov. Tocchet represented Canada as an Assistant Coach at the 4 Nations Faceoff in 2025 and also played for his country three times — twice at the Canada Cup and once at the World Championship. 

Denmark, Switzerland, And Germany Have Each Named One Former Canuck To Their Olympic Rosters 

Three more former Canucks have been named to Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany’s 2026 Winter Olympic rosters. While some were drafted back in 2011, the most recent Canuck of these three played his last game with Vancouver last April. 

A former first-round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, Nicklas Jensen played with the Canucks for Jensen for a total of 24 games before being traded to the New York Rangers in January of 2016 for Emerson Etem. Jensen has represented Denmark eight times at the World Championships, with his most recent appearance being in 2025. The forward currently plays with SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League in Switzerland. 

An undrafted forward, Marc Michaelis will represent Germany for the first time in his career at the Olympics. The former product of Minnesota State University (Mankato) in the NCAA played in 15 games as a member of the Canucks back in 2020–21. He has since played with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, SCL Tigers and EV Zug of the NL, and Adler Mannheim of the DEL. Michaelis has been to the World Championships five times with Germany, wearing an ‘A’ for his team in 2025.  

The final former Canuck who has been named to an Olympic roster is Pius Suter, who is expected to join Switzerland in Italy despite sustaining an injury that may keep him off the ice for the rest of January. Suter’s time with the Canucks ended after he parted ways in free-agency, signing a two-year deal with the St. Louis Blues during the 2025 off-season. This is not Suter’s first time representing Switzerland at the Olympics, as he also took part in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, scoring three goals and two assists in four games. 

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