Official: Nick Suzuki will represent Canada at the 2026 Olympics

Félix Forget
Official: Nick Suzuki will represent Canada at the 2026 Olympics
Credit: Getty Images

After months of speculation, today was the day the heads of the international teams were to submit their rosters for the 2026 Olympics. And of course, for the Habs, Nick Suzuki was the talk of the town.

The captain is still playing great hockey this season… and seeing 2026 Olympic merchandise in his likeness go on sale on the Fanatics website (before being withdrawn) suggested that Suzuki had a real chance of making it.

It was only in the last few minutes that Team Canada announced its line-up… and Suzuki, as it were, won his bet: he'll be representing his country in Italy in February.

We note that he is the only Habs player who will represent Canada: Noah Dobson (who took part in this summer's orientation camp) was not selected.

And Samuel Montembeault, who was at the 4 Nations Confrontation, was also (logically) overlooked due to his difficult season.

Still, it's impressive to see Suzuki recognized as one of the top 14 Canadian forwards in the world. The Habs captain, acquired in a deal that sent Max Pacioretty to Vegas a few years ago, has truly established himself as one of the NHL's best players.

Does anyone miss Pacioretty around here?

Remember that in 2025, only Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid (who were already officially on the team) had more points than Suzuki among Canadian-born forwards. He really, really earned his place.

As for the full team, we note that all eight defensemen who took part in the 4 Nations Confrontation will be back at the Olympics. There are, however, some changes to the forwards and in front of the net.

Jordan Binnington is back, but Logan Thompson and Darcy Kuemper have taken the place of Montembeault and Adin Hill.

At forward, in addition to Suzuki, the club has added Macklin Celebrini, Tom Wilson, and Bo Horvat to its group. Seth Jarvis, Travis Konecny, and Sam Bennett have been left out.

At the same time, there are no Québécois players on the team. Montembeault was the only one last February, and he's not back.

This is great news for Suzuki, who has won his bet and will have the chance to represent his country at the next Olympics.

In fact, he'll be the fifth player in Habs history to represent Canada at the Olympics.


Extension

Suzuki joins Juraj Slafkovský and, in all likelihood, Alexandre Texier as the Habs players who will officially represent their country at the next Olympics. Oliver Kapanen (Finland), Patrik Laine (Finland), and Jakub Dobes (Czech Republic) are other guys whose places could be confirmed shortly.

As for Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson, all indications are that they are not part of the line-up submitted by the USA today. But in their case, it will be officially announced on Friday morning.

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