Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard, Winnipeg Jets centre Mark Scheifele and several players who helped Canada win the 4 Nations Face-Off were left off the country's team for February’s Milan Cortina Olympics.
Hockey Canada unveiled its 25-player men's hockey roster Wednesday in Minneapolis — one of the host cities for the world junior hockey championship — ahead of the Winter Games in Italy.
Bedard, the 20-year-old No. 1 overall draft pick in 2023, shot out of the gate this season and was tied for third in NHL scoring with 44 points in 31 games before sustaining an upper-body injury Dec. 12.
Only five Canadian skaters have produced more points than Scheifele's 132 over the past two seasons combined.
Florida’s Sam Bennett, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner with the Stanley Cup champion Panthers, won’t return to Canada’s Olympic lineup unless selected as an injury replacement. Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny and Carolina’s Seth Jarvis are the other 4 Nations forwards who didn’t make the cut. Vegas goalie Adin Hill and Montreal’s Sam Montembeault were also left off, while Canada kept its 4 Nations defence corps intact.
NHL players are returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2014 after the league skipped the 2018 Games and COVID-19 derailed plans in 2022. Canada captured gold with NHLers in 2010 and again in 2014.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 31, 2025.
