Alexandre Texier Is the Only Blues Player Selected for the 2026 Olympics First Six

The first six players for each national team at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina have been announced, and some big names have already been confirmed for the first batch of teams. The St. Louis Blues have one player selected out of the first six players, and it’s Alexandre Texier for France.

Texier’s Performance With the Blues in 2024-25

Texier’s performance this season for the Blues was not impressive. He played only 31 games and recorded 11 points, including one point in three games in the playoffs. He was traded to the Blues in the 2024 offseason from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a Blues 2025 fourth-round pick. It was mainly a depth move for the Blues’ bottom lines, and Texier didn’t seem to be there for a specific reason.

However, it was mainly previous performances, such as his career-high 30 points in 78 games during the 2023-24 season with the Blue Jackets. The Blues seemed like they were expecting him to pop off this season, and after getting him while he was still cheap, it did not go as planned.

In the 2026 offseason, Texier will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent (RFA), meaning he will be able to receive his next contract under arbitration rules. Arbitration results are usually decided by a player’s performance, which, judging by his 2024-25 campaign, will most likely undervalue him. He does not have much to go on if he wants to get a bigger contract.

Fun fact: Texier isn’t the first French player on the Blues to play in the Olympics; the last one was Philippe Bozon in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics.

Texier’s International Play Experience

For France, Texier is their most valuable asset going into the 2026 Winter Olympics, being that he’s the only active French NHL player right now. There have not been many good French NHL stars before him who have had lengthy careers and have paved the way for French talent in the league, such as players like Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Cristobal Huet, and Antoine Roussel, to name a few.

On an international level, Texier is a different story from his NHL play. In the recent Olympic Games Qualifiers, in which Texier and France participated, leading up to the 2026 competition, he was a big part of their qualification, recording six points in three qualifying games. It was a critical moment for the French men’s national team as they hadn’t participated in the ice hockey Olympics since 2002, when it was hosted in Salt Lake City.