Canadiens winger Cole Caufield and defenceman Lane Hutson gained’t be enjoying within the Winter Olympics subsequent month in Milano Cortina, Italy, except referred to as upon to be harm replacements.
When the U.S. workforce was introduced on Friday morning, the 2 Habs didn’t seem on the preliminary Winter Video games roster.
Introducing the 2026 U.S. Olympic Males’s Ice Hockey Staff 🇺🇸 #MilanoCortina2026U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Rosters: https://t.co/hUC1A7aZ7R pic.twitter.com/V1DV63Jyie
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) January 2, 2026
Caufield, who celebrated his twenty fifth birthday on Friday, leads the Canadiens in targets with 20, whereas including 20 assists in 40 video games this season. The ahead was additionally named the Molson Cup recipient for December after scoring 5 targets and including eight assists throughout the month.
Hutson has six targets, 34 assists and a plus-12 differential this season. The reigning Calder Trophy winner for greatest rookie was tied for second in scoring within the league amongst defencemen coming into Friday’s motion.
The 5-foot-8, 176-pound Caufield was among the many 44 gamers invited to the U.S. Olympic orientation camp final summer time, whereas the 5-foot-9, 162-pound Hutson wasn’t.
“I simply need to present them that I can defend — and defend at a excessive degree,” Hutson stated
in December earlier than the announcement
.
“It could be a dream come true (to make the workforce). Simply carrying the USA jersey is all the time actually particular and one thing I don’t take as a right. Considering again to world juniors, how a lot enjoyable it was, U.S. nationwide workforce. It’s all the time so enjoyable, and to do this could be actually cool.”
Canadiens teammate
Nick Suzuki was named to Staff Canada’s Olympic roster
on New 12 months’s Eve.
“I can’t wait to placed on the Canadian jersey and hopefully deliver house a gold medal,” the Canadiens captain stated in a video posted on the workforce’s social media.
Suzuki was considered one of three Canadiens among the many 42 gamers invited to Staff Canada’s Olympic orientation camp final summer time, together with defenceman Noah Dobson and goalie Samuel Montembeault, who was the third goalie for Canada on the 4 Nations Face-Off final February.
On Friday, Oliver Kapanen was chosen to Staff Finland.
The roster for Finland on the #MilanoCortina2026 #WinterOlympics is right here! 🇫🇮 pic.twitter.com/H6blKyxjGV
— NHL (@NHL) January 2, 2026
Kapanen scored in
Montreal’s 7-5 win over the Carolina Hurricanes
on Thursday. His 12 targets are tied for the league lead amongst rookies this season.
The 22-year-old ahead, enjoying in his first full NHL season after an 18-game stint a 12 months in the past, has blossomed because the second-line centre on a line with Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov.
A Finnish star who gained’t be becoming a member of Kapanen in Italy is teammate Patrik Laine. He stays out
with a core muscle harm
.
Different Canadiens both named to the Olympics or on the cusp embrace Slafkovsky, who was considered one of six gamers already introduced for Slovakia, alongside former Hab Tomas Tatar.
Slovakia’s Olympic countdown is on. Listed here are the primary 6 gamers on their preliminary roster.🇸🇰👏#IIHF #Olympics #NHL #NHLPA @hockeyslovakia @olympics @nhl @nhlpa pic.twitter.com/rgo2iYLrdH
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) June 16, 2025
Alexandre Texier was considered one of six gamers named to Staff France’s preliminary roster in June. In December they introduced their full lineup apart from one participant nonetheless to be named attributable to an settlement with the NHL. Texier is the lone Frenchman within the league and was notably omitted.
Czechia will even be asserting its lineup on Jan. 6. Goaltender Jakub Dobes might be chosen however faces steep competitors from the likes of Anaheim’s Lukas Dostal and Philadelphia’s Daniel Vladar.
The 2026 Winter Olympics shall be held from Feb. 6 to 22. Staff Canada will play its first recreation in Milan on Feb. 12 towards Czechia. The final time NHL gamers participated within the Winter Video games was 2014 in Sochi, Russia, the place Canada gained the gold medal.
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