France Announces First 6 Players for 2026 Winter Olympics

The 2026 Olympic Winter Games will take place from Feb. 6 to 22, 2026, in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The men’s ice hockey tournament will be staged in Milan.

Group A: Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, France
Group B: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Italy
Group C: U.S., Germany, Latvia, Denmark

Here are the first six players on the Team France preliminary roster.

Alexandre Texier

Texier had 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 31 games for the St. Louis Blues this season after he had a career-high 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) in 78 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023-24. The 25-year-old from Saint-Martin-d’Heres was selected by Columbus in the second round (45th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft and has 90 points (40 goals, 50 assists) in 232 games between the Blue Jackets and Blues. He has played for France at the World Championship five times and at the Olympic qualifiers twice.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

His 700 NHL games played are the most by a France-born player and his 138 points (64 goals, 74 assists) are second. The 40-year-old from Le Blanc-Mesnil last played in the NHL in 2023-24, when he had seven points (four goals, three assists) in 40 games for the Seattle Kraken. Bellemare had 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 34 games this season for HC Ajoie in the National League, the top league in Switzerland. He’s played in the World Championship 11 times, the Olympic qualifiers six times, and won silver with Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Yohann Auvitu

Auvitu has 58 games of NHL experience (13 points; five goals, eight assists) with the New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers, having last played in the League in 2017-18. He’s played the past two seasons for HC Vitkovice Ridera in the Czech Extraliga, the top professional league in the country. The 35-year-old from Ivry-sur-Seine has represented France in 10 World Championships and one Olympic qualifier.

Jules Boscq

The 23-year-old, a Bordeaux native, had one assist in seven games for France at the 2025 Worlds and also played at the 2023 tournament. Boscq has spent the past two seasons playing professionally for the Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL and had 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 65 games in 2024-25. He has also played for Anglet and Bordeaux in Ligue Magnus, the top men’s ice hockey division in France.

Hugo Gallet

The 27-year-old represented France at the Worlds six times, including as captain this year. He has also played in two Olympic qualifiers. Gallet, a native of Amiens, had 20 points (three goals, four assists) in 49 games this season for Tappara of Liiga, the top professional league in Finland.

Jordann Perret

Perrett had four points (two goals, two assists) in six games for France at the 2025 Worlds and has played in the event eight times. He also has played in three Olympic qualifiers. The 30-year-old from Autrans has spent the past six seasons playing for Mountfield HK of the Czech Extraliga, and had 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 45 games this season as an alternate captain.

The NHL has confirmed its players will participate in both the 2026 and 2030 Olympic Winter Games. NHL players have previously participated in five Winter Olympic Games, including in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014.