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Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl named to 2026 Olympic rosters

Originally posted on The Oil Rig | By Karim Kurji | Last updated Jun 16, 2025 2:39 PM ET

International hockey federations released their “Olympic Six”, the starting six players for each of the qualifying nations that will participate in men’s hockey for the 2026 Olympics. The Edmonton Oilers aren’t thinking about the Olympics just yet, but starts Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were named to Canada’s and Germany’s Olympic Six rosters respectively.

Introducing Canada's six preliminary players for the #MilanoCortina #Olympics! pic.twitter.com/p5lD2SlORj
— NHL (@NHL) June 16, 2025

Olympia 2026: Die ersten sechs Spieler für den vorläufigen Kader der DEB-Männer stehen fest

Das Turnier findet vom 11. bis 22.02. in Mailand statt. In der Gruppe C trifft Deutschland auf die , & . Weitere Infos zur Olympic Six https://t.co/3DhuTugYcz #debteams pic.twitter.com/s8T2k9qaW8
— Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (@deb_teams) June 16, 2025

An unexpected but huge honour

McDavid and Draisaitl will no doubt be key leaders on each of their teams. At the most recent 4 Nations Faceoff, McDavid famously scored the tournament-winning goal in overtime against Team USA, and finished second in tournament scoring with five points in four games.

Team Canada will of course be a force to be reckoned with, and will be one of the most stacked rosters in the tournament. Canada has won gold at the Olympics in three of the past four events that allowed NHL players to participate.

Canada is in Group A with Czechia, Switzerland, and France, and should be a lock to advance to the elimination round.

One of the key complaints about the 4 Nations was the omission of some of the world’s most talented players, including Draisaitl, since only four counties participated in the tournament.

Draisaitl will be part of a very talented German squad that will be a tough out in 2026. Germany is in Group C with the USA, Latvia, and Denmark, and should be a lock to finish second in the group.

This article first appeared on The Oil Rig and was syndicated with permission.

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