Team USA announces men’s hockey roster for 2026 Olympics: Snubs, surprises and expectations
It’s clear the United States feels confident that its style of play at the 4 Nations Face-Off and the camaraderie created within the team can lead to a third Olympic gold medal, and first since 1980, in Milan.
The U.S. men’s hockey roster was officially unveiled Friday morning with 21 4 Nations returnees and four new faces, although one is Quinn Hughes, who was named to the Olympic team way back in June and would have been in the 4 Nations had he not been injured last February.
Forwards Tage Thompson and Clayton Keller, who were huge parts of the United States’ first gold medal in 92 years at last spring’s World Championship, earned spots on the roster, as did defenseman Seth Jones.
“We’re excited about our team and congratulate everyone named today,” Bill Guerin, the U.S. general manager, said. “It was incredibly difficult for our management group to get to the final roster and that’s a credit to so many in our country, including all those at the grassroots level who help make our sport so strong. There’s nothing like the Olympics and I know our players and staff will represent our country well and work hard to achieve our ultimate goal.”
The biggest noise around the roster unveiling will undoubtedly surround former Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox’s deletion after a tough 4 Nations tournament and not selecting the second-leading goal-scoring American, Jason Robertson. But Guerin told The Athletic earlier this week he wouldn’t second guess the hard decisions and he’s confident the team selected can bring gold to the United States.
“We have a huge talent pool, and unfortunately, some good players had to be left off,” Guerin said. “But if there are injuries, there could be changes, and some of the players that weren’t named to the initial roster could still be with us in a month. A lot can happen still.”
Among the 11 returning forwards are anticipated captain Auston Matthews, the Tkachuk brothers (Brady and Matthew), Matt Boldy (who leads all Americans with 25 goals), Jake Guentzel, Jack Eichel, Kyle Connor, Dylan Larkin, Jack Hughes, Brock Nelson, J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck.
The lone forward to make the 4 Nations that was left off the Olympic roster is Chris Kreider.
As for the defensemen, Hughes will be joined by 4 Nations returners Charlie McAvoy, Jaccob Slavin, Brock Faber, Zach Werenski, Jake Sanderson and Noah Hanifin. Fox was the only blueliner in the 4 Nations who didn’t make the Olympic team. All three goalies from the 4 Nations – Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman – return.
The U.S. men’s team, along with the women’s and sled hockey teams, was unveiled in the plaza on NBC’s “Today” show with Jack Hughes, Laila Edwards and Declan Farmer in attendance, with fans in the background.
The men’s tournament begins in Milan on Feb. 11 with the U.S. opening its Group B preliminary round Feb. 12 against Latvia. The gold-medal game is slated for Feb. 22.
Full roster
Snubs
Well, none bigger than Robertson, especially because players like Miller and Trocheck haven’t had the greatest seasons for the Mike Sullivan-coached New York Rangers.
Robertson ranks second amongst Americans in goals (24), tied for ninth in assists (24), first in points (48), second with nine power-play goals and first with 20 power-play points.
In the end, the American brass has indicated it’s about fit and they had players ahead of him as far as where he would have played in the lineup. The irony is Robertson’s Dallas Stars may end up playing Guerin’s Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs, so he’ll be extremely motivated.
The reasoning for Robertson’s snub will cause many to debate. It sounds like nobody on the management or coaching staff was beating the drum for him, feeling he’s too one-dimensional and that there are other players better suited to check.
Adam Fox said Bill Guerin called him yesterday to tell him he wasn’t on Team USA for the Olympics.
“I thought my play this year was worthy of it and my track record as well, but it’s out of my hands at a certain point.”
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) January 1, 2026
As for Fox, this was clearly Guerin’s decision because there’s no doubt USA Hockey’s Rangers contingent — Sullivan (the U.S. head coach), assistant coach David Quinn (a U.S. assistant coach) and GM Chris Drury (one of Guerin’s management team) — went to bat for him. But in the end, the U.S. felt pace of play was an issue for Fox at the 4 Nations and his mistakes on Connor McDavid’s championship-winning goal in overtime were embedded in their brain.
THERE IT IS! THE GAME WINNER! THE TOURNAMENT WINNER! 😱😱😱
CONNOR MCDAVID HAS WON IT FOR CANADA!!! #4Nations pic.twitter.com/nDneA2e26K
— NHL (@NHL) February 21, 2025
Other snubs include forwards Cole Caufield (20 goals), Alex DeBrincat (21 goals, 41 points), Alex Tuch, Troy Terry, Cutter Gauthier and Matthew Knies and defensemen Lane Hutson and Jackson Lacombe. Future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane’s dream of representing the U.S. in another Olympics also didn’t come to fruition.
Surprises
The American coaching staff values everything Brock Nelson can provide when it comes to checking, scoring, faceoffs and penalty killing, but there’s no denying that Miller and Trocheck have had tough years for the Rangers. But body of work and the respect they garner from the staff were the deciding factors.
Thompson and Keller earned spots in large part because they proved to Guerin they could check in the 1-0 gold-medal game at worlds. Besides the fact that Thompson scored the “Golden Goal” in overtime, the American brass felt they could have used Thompson’s versatility, size and goal scoring prowess at the 4 Nations, while Keller brings speed, offense and special teams insurance.
“So happy for those guys,” San Jose Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky, who coached Thompson and Keller at the worlds, told The Athletic. “They earned it. Kells came over there, got better as the tournament went on, played some of his best hockey. And even this year, when we’ve seen him in Utah, he seems like a different player right now. Tage, again, another guy who got better as the tournament went on. He’s starting to learn how to win, how he needs to play in certain moments. You’ve seen that now in Buffalo. So hopefully that was a propel to what they’ve done to their teams and now to get recognized by USA Hockey and to be selected, I couldn’t be more proud of those guys.”
Jones, who won a Stanley Cup last year with the Panthers, earned his way onto the team because he can play penalty kill, power play, brings size, mobility and can log big minutes. In the end, the eighth spot came down to Hanifin vs. Fox, and simply put, it was decided that Hanifin can be trusted more in such a fast environment. But it’s interesting the Americans decided to go with five left shots and only three right.
Expectations
Well, to win gold and finally beat Canada in a best-on-best.
If Jordan Binnington didn’t rob Matthews a couple times in overtime in the 4 Nations final, that could have happened.
Guerin’s mantra was to build a “team, not an All-Star team,” and he’s always maintained if you can’t check, this isn’t the tournament for you. Guerin feels he has built that roster.
While the United States doesn’t possess McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby or Cale Makar, they feel they have the edge in goal and on the back end with a deep, balanced group. Up front, there’s no doubt they’re going to need some players to play better and produce more than they did at the 4 Nations, guys like Matthews, Eichel, Connor and Jack Hughes.
As with Canada, anything short of gold will be a disappointment. Guerin has said it’s all about winning, and he knows – and, frankly, doesn’t give a damn iota – that he’ll have his decisions scrutinized heavily if the Americans come up a goal short again after the bold decision to leave goal scorers like Robertson and Caufield and an offensive-minded defenseman like Fox back home.
