
So far, three members of the Vancouver Canucks have been named to their respective countries’ 2026 Olympic men’s hockey rosters. Quinn Hughes will suit up for Team USA, playing in his first ever Olympic games. Teddy Blueger and Artūrs Šilovs will represent Team Latvia, with the former having captained his country during the Olympic qualifiers in 2022. It’s very likely, if not almost guaranteed, that Canucks fans will see more of their players at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Here’s a look at who else could crack their country’s roster.
Suter will be highly sought-after this free agency, as he proved he can play and produce on all sides of the ice in all circumstances. Moreover, he’s relatively budget-friendly and would be a great addition for any team looking to increase their depth along the middle. He finished fifth on the Canucks in points during the 2024–25 regular season with 46 in 81 games. As well, he tied Brock Boeser for second on the team in goals with 25. While he wasn’t part of the first six players named to Switzerland’s roster yesterday, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Suter on the team once the puck drops in Italy.
Another member of the Canucks who could have been part of the first six players named to their team is Hronek. Instead, Hronek’s country of Czechia listed David Pastrňák, Martin Nečas, Pavel Zacha, Lukáš Dostál, Ondřej Palát, and Radko Gudas as their first six. In the 2024–25 season, Hronek was called upon to fill Hughes’ role as a power play specialist and minute-cruncher throughout the times that the Canucks captain was injured. As a result, he finished this season by tying his career-high in minutes averaged per game with 23:54. He also scored five goals and 28 assists in 61 games played. Hronek was heavily relied upon during Czechia’s 2025 IIHF World Championship campaign, often finishing his team’s games with the most minutes played. It’s likely he could adopt the same role at the Olympics in 2026.
Lankinen had a career year in his first season with the Canucks, which earned him a new contract and a potential starting goaltender role. He played in a career-high of 51 games, winning 25 and losing 15 in regulation. He faced 1345 shots in this span and posted a GAA of 2.62 as well as a .902 SV%. His steady play in the first half of the 2024–25 season resulted in him being named to Team Finland for the 4 Nations Faceoff. After a subpar performance from Juuse Saros, Lankinen stepped in and helped Finland to their first win of the tournament. Other goaltenders such as Ville Husso, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and Joonas Korpisalo could give Lankinen a run for his money, so the Canuck’s appearance at the Olympics isn’t as certain compared to Suter or Hronek. However, a good start to the 2025–26 season could help his campaign.
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Hronek may not be the only Canuck named Filip who could compete for Czechia during the Olympics. Semi-new Canuck Chytil has represented Czechia at numerous international events, but has yet to dress as a member of the country’s Olympic team. Despite sustaining a concussion after a dirty hit from former Canuck Jason Dickinson, Chytil still managed to put up two goals and four assists in his first 15 games with Vancouver. If he’s able to stay healthy throughout next season, he could joing Hronek in possibly competing for Czechia.
Many have been critical of Pettersson since the start of the 2024–25 regular season. Had the first six Olympic roster players been decided on one year ago, it’s highly likely — if not guaranteed — that Pettersson would have been part of the first players announced to the preliminary roster. Unfortunately, a down season impacted his stock dramatically. Injuries, external issues, and other things caused Pettersson to have 15 goals and 30 assists in 64 games played. With that being said, Pettersson did show flashes of the player that he was at times. As well, a full off-season worth of training and recovering will help his cause. It’s unlikely that Pettersson is kept off Sweden’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics, but he’ll need to play his game effectively in order to keep that spot safe.

Team USA’s goaltending department seems virtually set for the time being. Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger, and Jeremy Swayman are the three goalies who look like they’re favoured by USA. However, goaltending is a finicky position. Injuries can set a player back, and stretches of uninspired play can result in a goalie putting up numbers that are less than ideal. Before enduring stretches of injury, Demko had been favoured as one of USA’s goaltenders for international play. This same season, he finished second in voting for the Vezina Trophy, losing to back-to-back winner Hellebuyck. While injuries also cost Demko a good chunk of the 2024–25 season, after spending some games testing the waters, he put together strings of victories that saw him playing near the peak performance of his Vezina-finalist efforts. Ultimately, a full carousel of goaltenders may stop Team USA from selecting Demko, but if the Canucks’ goaltender is able to bounce back throughout the start of the regular season, he could dethrone one of the three and take their spot as his own.
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