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Quinn Hughes, Minnesota Wild (Nick Wosika-Imagn Images)

Minnesota Wild Candidates for the 2026 Winter Olympics

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Mariah E. Stark | Last updated Dec 31, 2025 10:15 AM ET

The 2026 World Junior Championship is underway in St. Paul, Minnesota, which is why the Minnesota Wild are currently on a lengthy road trip. However, with the tournament underway, that means the 2026 Winter Olympics are right around the corner. By the time the tournament finishes up next week, the Olympics will be just a month away, which is not long.

The rosters for the teams competing are due on New Year’s Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 31, and Team Canada has already said they will be announcing their roster that morning, while Team USA has elected to wait until Friday, Jan. 2. In this article, we’ll look at who is expected to represent the Wild on Olympic rosters, starting with Sweden.

Wild Loaded With Swedes

The Wild are loaded with players from Sweden this season, with a total of five on the roster. Obviously, everyone knows Joel Eriksson Ek, Jonas Brodin, and Filip Gustavsson, but there’s also Marcus Johansson and, of course, Jesper Wallstedt, who’s already become a fan favorite. It’ll be no surprise to see Eriksson Ek, Brodin, and Gustavsson on Sweden’s Olympic roster; they’re all top players in their respective positions.

Unfortunately for Johansson, he’s on the older side in terms of Swedish players, and there are quite a few strong candidates in the NHL, so he may be left off the roster. However, with how strong of a season he’s having, and the news of some injuries, he could find his way onto the roster. At the beginning of the season, it seemed unlikely that Wallstedt would make the roster, but he’s grown a lot since the start as well.

With the way Wallstedt has helped get the Wild to where they are in the standings, that has to have gotten him noticed. Again, Sweden has some strong veteran leadership in the goaltending department, but it would be quite a shock if Wallstedt isn’t on the roster, especially with the tandem he and Gustavsson have nearly perfected with the Wild. They could be a real force with Sweden, and it’ll be interesting to see if they both make the final cut along with the rest of their teammates.

Wild’s American Group

At the beginning of the season, it was expected that the Wild would have two players on the American roster in Matt Boldy and Brock Faber. It’s still expected that those two will be on the roster, but they’ll also have a third name in Quinn Hughes. Canada is always predicted to be one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the world, but this American team is going to put that to the test.

Boldy, Faber, and Hughes are easily three of the Wild’s best players. Boldy has been scoring like crazy this season, and many are thinking he’ll hit the 50-goal mark as he’s already halfway there and the season is barely at the halfway mark. He’s done really well being on a line with Eriksson Ek and Johansson, and he may have to face them when the Olympics get underway in February.

Faber and Hughes are a pair on the Wild, and they’ll likely be a pair at the Olympics as well. Everyone was excited to see what they could do in Minnesota, and although they’ve had some rough patches, they’ve really improved and will only continue to get better. It’ll be fun to see what they can do together on the Olympic stage for the United States.

Wild’s Lone Representatives

There are a couple of countries that will have one lone Wild player on their roster, and the first is Czechia, who will likely have David Jiříček. He hasn’t had a lot of playing time since joining the Wild, outside of when injuries have struck, but he’s steadily improved every time he’s been back with the Wild. He hasn’t been able to steal anyone’s spot yet, but as long as he continues to improve, he’ll get there.

The other country with a lone Wild player on their roster is Germany, and Nico Sturm. He’s been on the Wild’s roster twice now, and both times he was a key part of their team. He’s a big part of their penalty kill and winning faceoffs. He’s a player who doesn’t get a lot of attention but plays a big role, and he’ll likely do the same thing for Germany.

The Wild players who make their respective country rosters will likely face an old teammate as well, in Marco Rossi, who should be on the Austrian roster. It’s always interesting to see current and former teammates face off against each other for their countries, and since the trade was so recent, none of the Wild players have had to play against Rossi since the trade.

What’s also interesting is the Wild will have no Canadian or Finnish players on the Olympic rosters. They have a lot of Swedish and American players, and although they do have a high number of Canadian players, unfortunately, they won’t be making the cut this year, as there are so many strong Canadian players all throughout the league. Hopefully, all the players who do make the cut have a strong showing and make their respective countries proud.