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Winners, Losers and Snubs From Team USA's 2026 Men's Hockey Olympic Roster
The announcement of Team USA's 2026 men's hockey Olympic roster was made official Friday morning with a less-than-spectacular unveiling on the Today Show, and the hope is that wasn't an omen.
Many of the names we had pegged for it are there, but more than a few we expected to get their chance to represent the red, white, and blue are not.
We're going to dig into the winners, losers, and the big-time snubs here in a moment, but first, here's the roster:
Winner: Tage Thompson
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When USA Hockey selected the roster for the Four Nations a year ago, Tage Thompson was one of the notable snubs from that team. After all, a 6'5" forward with one of the best shots in the league, who's capable of piling up goals, not making a team, is going to get noticed.
Thompson took that exception to heart. While the Sabres struggled last season, he eventually used it as motivation, and when he was invited to play for Team USA at the World Championships, he jumped at the chance. That turned out to be the best thing he could've done, as he scored the gold-medal-winning goal, leading the United States to the title at Worlds for the first time in over 90 years.
This season, Thompson is helping lead the Sabres out of the basement and onto the currently longest winning streak in the NHL, 10 games, and he's already cracked the 20-goal mark. His ability to shoot, dangle, and create offense at the Olympics will be fascinating to watch, given how tight the games are played, especially later on in the knockout round.
Losers: Jason Robertson
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Let's be straightforward here first: Jason Robertson is not a loser, but he's also not part of Team USA's roster for Milan Cortina for some reason.
Robertson is having a monster season for the Dallas Stars and is in the top 10 in the NHL in scoring this season. He's a slick winger who can score and defend in an elite way, and the Stars are one of the best teams in the league once again because of him.
Robertson's ranks in offense: tied for eighth in points (48), tied for third in goals with Connor McDavid (24). He has 20 points on the power play, and he's not exactly a small-sized player, either (6'3" 204). His exclusion makes almost zero sense if the point of putting together an Olympic roster means having the best players that give you the best chance of winning the gold medal. While it's possible Robertson will be on their short list for injury replacements, the fact that he's not there from the get-go is inexcusable.
What's wildest about Robertson's exclusion is that he wasn't on Team USA's roster at the Four Nations Face-Off a year ago either. All he's ever been is one of the top offensive producers in the NHL over the past few years. Since 2021-2022, Robertson has the 11th most points in the league (396), trailing just behind the likes of Sidney Crosby and Auston Matthews. He's 12th in goals in that same span as well, with 175.
What more does USA Hockey need from one of their best home-grown talents?
Winners, Despite Losing: Team USA's Four Nations Roster
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The task of predicting the United States Olympic roster, as it turns out, was really easy since the bulk of the team also represented the U.S. at the Four Nations Face-Off a year ago.
Out of the 25 players named to the Olympic roster, 22 of them were part of the Four Nations team that was runners-up to Canada in the four-country tournament last year. The U.S. team played outstandingly in the round-robin part of the tournament, were the best of the four teams, and earned a bye to the championship game, where they eventually lost to Canada in a thrilling final game.
Team USA GM Bill Guerin and coach Mike Sullivan, among many others who made the decisions, felt good about that group and are banking on the collective hunger of the entire team to get over the hump and win gold for the United States at the Olympics for the first time since 1980. That they're running it back with just a few tweaks (In: Tage Thompson, Clayton Keller, Seth Jones; Out: Adam Fox, Chris Kreider) tells us as much.
Of course, if they don't win gold, the players left out of the mix will haunt them for the next four years and beyond.
.png?w=256 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
Loser: Adam Fox
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In Adam Fox's case, his absence from the United States Olympic roster is a massive head-scratcher.
Both his GM (Chris Drury) and coach (Mike Sullivan) are part of Team USA's leadership, and Fox was part of their roster for the Four Nations. Although his performance during that tournament wasn't great, he wasn't the reason they lost to Canada in the title game. Although now you could say he's the management group's scapegoat for that loss, since he's one of the few players from that team who did not make the Olympic roster.
Fox's play for a Rangers team that hasn't lived up to expectations so far this season has been outstanding, and if there's a real reason he didn't make the cut, perhaps the injury he's just now getting back from is a little worse for wear than we all know. If not, it'll be really awkward between the player, coach, and GM the rest of the season.
Winner: Size on the Blue Line
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If there's a trait that stands out about the United States on defense it's size.
Apart from Quinn Hughes (5'10"), who plays much bigger (and faster) than his stature, the Americans' defense corps is going to cover a lot of the ice with ease just by how big they are physically.
Seth Jones is 6'4"; Jaccob Slavin and Noah Hanifin are 6'3"; Zach Werenski and Jake Sanderson are 6'2"; Charlie McAvoy and Brock Faber are 6'0". The ice at Milan Cortina will be just slightly under NHL size, and being able to cover that much ice in reach with length and sheer mass will come in handy. They'll certainly need the size if they match up against Canada to deal with the likes of Tom Wilson, too.
As big as the USA defense is, they're mobile and capable as well. These aren't the parking cones you're thinking they might be with size like that because they can move and maneuver all over the ice. But make no mistake about it, going big on the blue line is by design because every bit of help they can provide their goaltenders by getting in opposing attackers' way and blocking shots goes a long way.
The Biggest Snubs
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Jason Robertson, Adam Fox, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, Trevor Zegras, Alex Tuch, Jackson LaCombe, Cutter Gauthier, John Carlson, Alex DeBrincat
We've already talked about Robertson and Fox, but they're among just a few guys who very easily could've been on this U.S. roster and yet are not.
Obviously, there are roster limitations, but when you look at the amount of offense Team USA is leaving at home, it's staggering. While guys like J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck, who are not lighting it up, are going, Robertson (the top American scorer this season), Hutson (tied for most points among American defensemen), Caufield, and DeBrincat (both 20-goal scorers) are notable.
The lack of serious youth on the roster is a feature and not a bug. While Team Canada was eager to get Macklin Celebrini on its roster, younger players like Gauthier, Hutson, Zegras, and LaCombe did not make the Americans' roster. Granted, it's not fair to compare them with Celebrini and what he's doing, but then again, the U.S. isn't even taking their top scorers who are more veteran-aged, so there's that, too.
What's tough is seeing a veteran like Carlson never being included in the process for the U.S. defense, given his history of representing internationally and coming up big in those moments.
.png?w=480 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
