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The Edmonton Oilers celebrate a goal scored by defenseman Mattias Ekholm, his third of the game and first career hat-trick (Perry Nelson-Imagn Images)

Ekholm’s Second Olympic Snub Greatly Benefits the Oilers

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Rupert McDonald | Last updated Jan 29, 2026 8:55 AM ET

Since arriving to the Edmonton Oilers in a trade deadline deal with the Nashville Predators during the 2022-23 season, Mattias Ekholm has been nothing short of fantastic. He’s continued his excellent defensive play which earned him plenty of accolades with the Preds, and has shown some great offensive instincts, as well. Best of all, he’s been about as perfect of a fit for Evan Bouchard as anybody could have hoped.

Ekholm, who had an injury-riddled 2024-25 campaign, started off pretty slow in 2025-26. At the age of 35, there were questions amongst Oilers fans as to whether or not he was in decline. As the season has continued on, however, it’s clear that he is still a very valuable top-pairing defenceman.

The continuously underrated Swedish defenceman is continuing to play a big role for the Oilers, averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time per game. Following his first career hat trick on Monday, he now sits at six goals and 26 points through 54 games, totals that are very similar to what he’s provided in each of the past two seasons. Despite all of that, however, he was snubbed from Swedish’s Olympic team once again this week.

Ekholm Not Named as Injury Replacement

Despite suiting up for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Ekholm was left off of his native country’s Olympic roster when it was named in early January. The coaching staff tasked with selecting the team instead chose to go with Rasmus Dahlin, Rasmus Andersson, Erik Karlsson, Victor Hedman, Gustav Forsling, Jonas Brodin, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Philip Broberg.

Their blueline took a hit on Tuesday, however, as it was announced that Brodin will miss the tournament due to a lower-body injury. That seemingly opened the door for Ekholm to make his way onto the roster, but that never ended up being the case. Instead, Sweden announced that they would be taking Boston Bruins defenceman Hampus Lindholm as their replacement for Brodin.

This was quite surprising for Oilers fans, who were already questioning why their stalwart defenceman wasn’t initially named to the roster. After all, he’s been regarded as one of the game’s best shutdown defenders for many years, and is still going strong. While he should be there, however, this could actually be a positive for the entire Oilers organization and its fanbase.

Oilers Need a Healthy and Rested Ekholm

It was somewhat of a miracle that the Oilers were able to get back to the Stanley Cup Final last year. Not only were many believing they would fatigue after a long run the year prior, but it was also announced that they were going to be without Ekholm due to injury.

Somehow, the Oilers found a way to get past both the LA Kings and Vegas Golden Knights without Ekholm in the lineup. They then got what was expected to be a huge boost at the time, as Ekholm returned late in the Western Conference Final versus the Dallas Stars and suited up for all six games of the Cup Final against the Florida Panthers.

Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers (Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Unfortunately for the Oilers, Ekholm’s return didn’t provide nearly as big of a boost as hoped. It was clear that he wasn’t the same player, as he was nowhere near recovered from his injury, which he revealed months later was a torn adductor.

Not having a healthy Ekholm played a huge reason as to why the Oilers weren’t able to defeat the Panthers this past year. Whether they would have won it all or not is impossible to say, but not having him at his best was a major issue. His noticeably declined skating due to his injury led directly to a number of Panthers goals throughout the series.

What this is meant to say is that, if the Oilers hope to finally win it all this season, they will need Ekholm at his absolute best. Given his age, the best thing to keep him healthy and refreshed is rest, which he will receive by not going to the Olympics. As much as he would love to represent his country, having him stay back in Edmonton and take a few weeks off gives the Oilers a far better chance to hoist the Cup for the first time since 1990.