2026 Olympics: Final Team USA roster projections

IN: Brock Nelson, Vincent Trocheck
OUT: Matthew Knies, Cole Caufield

Nelson and Trocheck back in? Over Knies and Caufield? What? Hey – I’m not trying to tell you whom I’d pick for my own team. I’m trying to accurately predict the actual team, and recent intel from Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco makes me believe Nelson and Trocheck will make the team as checkers. The top two lines should bring electrifying offense, assuming Jack Hughes returns from his finger injury in time to find a rhythm before Milan.

Biggest flex: Keller over a few other candidates having superior seasons might raise an eyebrow. But this team can’t consist only of goal scorers. It needs distributors, too. Keller also captained USA’s 2025 World Championship gold-medallist team.

Toughest cut: Jason Robertson is a man possessed for the Dallas Stars right now, sitting third among all American NHLers in points this year. How could I have excluded him? He’s done everything he possibly can to make this team. I would pick him over Nelson, personally. But does the USA brass see a fit for Robertson in the lineup if he’d be relegated to the bottom six?

Also considered: Cole Caufield, Jason Robertson, Matthew Knies, J.T. Miller, Logan Cooley, Chris Kreider, Brock Boeser, Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane

FORWARDS (14) – Anthony Trudeau’s picks

IN: Kyle Connor, Jason Robertson, Brock Nelson
OUT: Logan Cooley, Clayton Keller, J.T. Miller

Another month, another lineup shuffle. Apparently, the Team USA brass hasn’t done as much flip-flopping as we writers have, which informed my decision to readmit one-way scorer Kyle Connor despite his poor showing last February and revert to the Tkachuk-Eichel-Tkachuk top line. Also returning to the fold despite a muted impact at the 4 Nations is Brock Nelson, if for no other reason than the uneven performance of fellow potential matchup centers Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller, who also struggled at that tournament. Nelson has shaken off a frigid start in Colorado (19 P in last 23 GP), and is a key cog on the NHL’s top PK. Sniper Tage Thompson or oft-injured burner Jack Hughes can draw in for the veteran if the goals go dry.

Biggest Flex: Why is Jason Robertson continually regarded as a Connor or a Caufield, a one-way player who might not be much use to coach Mike Sullivan outside of cushy O-zone starts? Robertson has gotten down-ballot Selke votes more than once, begins just 47% of his shifts in the offensive zone and has plenty of presence along the wall at 6’3, 200 lbs. Oh, and he has more goals (20) than Caufield, Connor, or any other American. Last time I cut ‘Robo,’ it was because he doesn’t play center or kill penalties. Now that he’s outplaying every other winger on the roster, I’m not so sure that matters. He needs to be on that plane.

Toughest Cut: Since Clayton Keller captained Team USA to victory at the World Championship last spring, there’s been a feeling that his leadership and playmaking (7 A in 10 GP) at that tournament would be remembered and rewarded in Milan. Unfortunately, Keller, who dons the ‘C’ for a disappointing Utah team, hasn’t held up his end of the bargain; he’s on pace for his worst scoring total (67 P) since 2021-22. Keller is a strong two-way player, but not so much that his slight frame (5’11, 175 lbs) and scoring dip won’t set off alarm bells for Guerin and the rest of the selection committee.

Also considered: Alex DeBrincat, Cole Caufield, Cutter Gauthier, Clayton Keller, J.T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck, Trevor Zegras

DEFENSEMEN (8) – Matt Larkin’s picks

IN: Jackson LaCombe
OUT: Lane Hutson

Most of this D-corps stays intact. It’s absolutely stacked. I do wonder about pairing Hughes and Faber, who will have a couple months under their belt as Minnesota Wild teammates by February, but the Slavin/Faber shutdown duo was just so good at the 4 Nations.

Biggest flex: I decided Lane Hutson’s tremendous skill set was redundant on a team with Hughes, Werenski, Sanderson and Fox moving the biscuit. LaCombe, the anchor on the surging Anaheim Ducks, can play a more versatile game as a true minute muncher.

Toughest cut: Seth Jones’ reach and skating ability make him a legit candidate to make Team USA. But I couldn’t bring myself to cut Adam Fox, who has become the American Evan Bouchard, a guy who gets unfair criticism for a few bad moments despite being elite 95 percent of the time.

Also considered: Seth Jones, Luke Hughes, Lane Hutson, John Carlson, Noah Hanifin

DEFENSEMEN (8) – Anthony Trudeau’s picks

IN: Adam Fox
OUT: Jackson LaCombe

Save for perhaps Brady Tkachuk, no Americans earned more new fans stateside at the 4 Nations than Jaccob Slavin and Brock Faber, who repeatedly stifled many of the world’s top players on an impenetrable shutdown pairing. Their chemistry made a reunion a no-brainer until last week. Now that Quinn Hughes and Faber are teaming up on the Wild, Team USA has an opportunity to ride an all-world unit that will have two months of game experience by February straight into the round-robin. Slavin will remain in a shutdown role on his off side, where he plays for Carolina, next to Ottawa’s underrated dominator, Jake Sanderson, who allows fewer expected goals per 60 (1.88) than any other defenseman in the NHL.

Biggest Flex: No more Adam Fox vs. Seth Jones debates; they’re both going. Fox has been the best player by some distance on Sullivan’s Rangers, a point that their offensive struggles since he hurt his shoulder have only driven home. He’ll offer injury cover for power-play QBs Hughes and Zach Werenski. Just keep him away from Team Canada’s forecheck. Jones, meanwhile, is on hand to reunite with his old Columbus partner Werenski if one of the left shots plays himself out of the lineup.

Toughest Cut: None? This group is as deep as they come, with countless exciting combinations for Sullivan to explore. The best player I’ve left off the team is Lane Hutson, the Habs dynamo whose outstanding puck skills make him a two-sided, forecheck-proof player. Hutson’s 160-lb frame still seems like an easy excuse to leave him at home, which is just what Guerin did at orientation camp back in autumn. 

Also considered: Jackson LaCombe, Lane Hutson, John Carlson, Luke Hughes, Matt Roy

GOALTENDERS (3) – Matt Larkin’s picks

IN: Jeremy Swayman
OUT: Thatcher Demko

Hellebuyck is back from injury and should have enough runway to get his legs in time for Milan and remain the American starter. He and Oettinger have been consistent locks, but Swayman has fought his way back onto my squad with an excellent resurgence for the Boston Bruins this season, sitting eighth in the NHL in goals saved above average per 60.

Biggest flex: Going with the same USA goalie depth chart as the 4 Nations one means I’m not flexing.

Toughest cut: Demko is talented enough to warrant a spot, and Spencer Knight has done outstanding work for the Chicago Blackhawks this season, but this is simply a tough team to make even if you’re a high-end goaltender.

Also considered: Thatcher Demko, Spencer Knight, Joey Daccord

GOALTENDERS (3) – Anthony Trudeau’s picks

IN: Jeremy Swayman
OUT: Thatcher Demko

Team USA’s goal crease remains pre-eminent, but competition for its goalies from the 4 Nations has waned during the first half of the NHL season. Dustin Wolf, Thatcher Demko, and Joey Daccord are all struggling behind bad Pacific Division clubs. That doesn’t change the outlook for the guys who are actually going to Milan, especially now that reigning Hart Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck is back on the ice after a mercifully minor knee surgery.

Biggest Flex: There’s nothing bold about keeping the same group that went to the 4 Nations Face-Off, but perhaps I should issue a mea culpa for including Demko over Jeremy Swayman back in October. Demko had cooled off significantly even before his lengthy injury history got a new addendum. In the meantime, Swayman’s place in Milan has become a formality. One of Team USA’s heroes at the World Championship, the Alaskan is propping up the Boston Bruins’ surprise playoff charge behind a gleaming .762 quality start %. For context, Hellebuyck’s QS% was .726 during his MVP season. No American goalie has taken more expected goals off the board than Swayman, per MoneyPuck.

Toughest Cut: Like Swayman, Spencer Knight of the Chicago Blackhawks has been stellar behind a lackluster lineup. Knight’s excellent numbers have levelled out somewhat over his past 10 starts (.904 SV%), though, while Swayman has only gotten stronger and is building a real Vezina case. Swayman and Dallas’s Jake Oettinger are still in their mid 20s, so Knight may have to wait out the 32-year-old Hellebuyck’s prime to get a serious look in the American net.

Also considered: Spencer Knight

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