Fantasy top 10 sleepers for Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026

NHL.com identifies the top 10 fantasy hockey sleepers for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. For more fantasy coverage, visit NHL.com/Fantasy.

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MORE COVERAGE:

Fantasy top 100 player rankings for Olympics

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NOTES: Basic fantasy pools have the following scoring system: goals and assists count for skaters with a potential bonus for a hat trick; wins count for goalies with a potential bonus for a shutout.

Value has been quantified based on factors including but not limited to past production in the NHL regular season, Stanley Cup Playoffs and/or international tournaments, projected line combinations, defense pairs and goalie situations, sleeper or bounce-back potential and likelihood of each country medaling in the Olympics.

1. Tage Thompson, F, United States (Buffalo Sabres)

The 28-year-old, who was not selected by the U.S. for the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025, scored the golden goal for his country at the 2025 IIHF World Championship. Thompson, who leads the NHL in even-strength goals during the past two NHL seasons combined (62) and is second in goals overall during that span (74; behind Leon Draisaitl’s 81) for the Sabres, has the ceiling of being the leading goal scorer for the U.S. in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Per NHL EDGE stats, Thompson leads NHL forwards in 90-plus mph shot attempts (29) and is tied for third in the League in midrange goals (14) this season. -- Pete Jensen

2. Nick Suzuki, F, Canada (Montreal Canadiens)


The 26-year-old, who was not selected to the 4 Nations Face-Off roster for Canada, ranks seventh in points (102 in 83 games) since NHL games resumed after that tournament (Feb. 22, 2025). Suzuki ranks 12th in the NHL in points (65 in 57 games) this season and is tied with Leon Draisaitl for the second-most games with at least one point (43) this season. Suzuki could center the third line and play on the second power play for Canada. Per NHL EDGE stats, Suzuki ranks highly among NHL forwards in 20-plus mph speed bursts (143; 95th percentile), total skating distance (187.33 miles; 98th percentile), midrange shots on goal (44; 87th percentile) and midrange goals (five; 82nd percentile) this season. -- Chris Meaney

3. Matt Boldy, F, United States (Minnesota Wild)

The 24-year-old brings plenty of international experience to the U.S. roster; he had three points (one goal, two assists) in four games at the 4 Nations Face-Off, led the 2024 IIHF World Championship in points (14 in eight games) and won a gold medal at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship. Boldy is having his first point-per-game season in the NHL (62 points in 54 games for the Wild), likely will slot into a top-six role and see power-play time. Per NHL EDGE stats, Boldy is tied for second in the NHL in high-danger goals (20; behind Tyler Bertuzzi’s 22) and ranks among the forward leaders in high-danger shots on goal (63; 97th percentile), long-range shots on goal (20; 96th percentile), hardest shot (93.61 mph; 95th percentile) and midrange goals (nine; 95th percentile) this season. -- Troy Perlowitz

4. Lucas Raymond, F, Sweden (Detroit Red Wings)

Raymond led Sweden in assists (three) and was tied with defenseman Erik Karlsson for his country’s lead in points (three) at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Raymond leads the Red Wings in points (60 in 56 games), assists (41), primary assists (28; tied for ninth in NHL) and power-play points (22) this season. The 23-year-old is expected to play in the top six and also could play on the first power play for Sweden in the Olympics. Per NHL EDGE stats, Raymond ranks highly among NHL forwards in high-danger goals (12; 92nd percentile), midrange goals (seven; 91st percentile), midrange shots on goal (47; 91st percentile) and average shot speed (61.45 mph; 93rd percentile) this season. -- Meaney

5. Mikael Granlund, F, Finland (Anaheim Ducks)

Granlund led Finland in points (four in three games) and goals (three) at the 4 Nations Face-Off and scored in overtime against Sweden during the round-robin portion of that tournament. The 33-year-old could play an even bigger role at the Olympics with Aleksander Barkov (knee surgery) injured. Granlund had 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 31 regular-season games and 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 18 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Dallas Stars last season and now reunites with former teammates Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz for Finland. Per NHL EDGE stats, Granlund ranks in the 82nd percentile among NHL forwards in midrange goals (five) this season. -- Meaney

6. Philipp Grubauer, G, Germany (Seattle Kraken)

Grubauer is the clear goalie starter for Germany, which was not part of the 4 Nations Face-Off, and could see plenty of goal support from elite forwards and countrymen Draisaitl and Tim Stutzle. Grubauer is having a bounce-back season with the Kraken; he is tied for second in the NHL in save percentage (.916 in 22 games; behind Andrei Vasilevskiy’s .920) among goalies who have played at least 20 games this season. Grubauer also has a strong track record in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 26 wins, two shutouts and a .910 save percentage in 47 postseason games. Per NHL EDGE stats, Grubauer leads the NHL in 5-on-5 save percentage (.934) and is tied for eighth in high-danger save percentage (.846). -- Jensen

7. Erik Karlsson, D, Sweden (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Karlsson, who had three points (one goal, two assists) in three games for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off and is one of four Sweden players returning to the Olympics from the 2014 roster (along with Gabriel Landeskog, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Marcus Johansson). Karlsson is the only defenseman to finish as a tournament points leader in a single Olympics involving NHL players (tied or outright); he had eight points (four goals, four assists) during the 2014 tournament in Sochi, Russia. Karlsson is the only Penguins player and one of 13 NHL defensemen with at least 30 assists (31), 100 shots on goal (108) and 40 blocked shots (43) this season. Per NHL EDGE stats, Karlsson is tied for third among NHL defensemen in 22-plus mph speed bursts (16) and also among the leaders at his position in offensive zone time percentage (45.1 percent; 92nd percentile), long-range shots on goal (54; 91st percentile), hardest shot (96.64 mph; 89th percentile) and midrange shots on goal (22; 88th percentile). -- Perlowitz

8. Tom Wilson, F, Canada (Washington Capitals)

Wilson was left off the Canada roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off but could bring a combination of goal-scoring and grit to the Olympics. Wilson is one of three NHL players this season with at least 20 goals and 100 hits (others: Filip Forsberg, Adrian Kempe). Wilson, who set NHL career highs last season in goals (33), points (65) and shot attempts (335), won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018 but has not represented his country on the international stage since the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Per NHL EDGE stats, Wilson is tied for fifth among NHL forwards in long-range goals (three) and ranks among the leaders at his position in high-danger goals (14; 95th percentile) and high-danger shots on goal (55; 94th percentile). -- Perlowitz

9. Logan Thompson, G, Canada (Washington Capitals)

Thompson, who returned from injury Feb. 5, was not selected to the 4 Nations Face-Off roster for Canada but could play a significant role for his country at the Olympics. Since joining the Capitals prior to last season, the 28-year-old has gotten Washington at least one point in 60 of his 82 games and is tied for seventh in the NHL in wins (50), tied for eighth in save percentage (.911) and tied for ninth in goals-against average (2.47) during that span. Thompson is expected to play at least one game for Canada at the Olympics and even could steal the net from expected Olympic starter Jordan Binnington (.864 save percentage in 32 NHL games this season for St. Louis Blues). Per NHL EDGE stats, Thompson ranks third in the NHL in midrange save percentage (.931) and 5-on-5 save percentage in close situations (.938), and is tied for second in quality starts (25; starts with greater than .900 save percentage). -- Meaney

10. Karel Vejmelka, G, Czechia (Utah Mammoth)

Vejmelka is expected to be in a competition with fellow NHL standouts Lukas Dostal and Dan Vladar to be the Olympics starter for Czechia, which was not a part of the 4 Nations Face-Off. Vejmelka is tied for first in the NHL in wins (27) and games played (44) this season. Vejmelka will have two experienced NHL defensemen in front of him at the Olympics in Filip Hronek and Radko Gudas and is 10-7-0 for Czechia in the IIHF World Championship across three different tournaments. Per NHL EDGE stats, Vejmelka leads the NHL in quality starts (26; starts with greater than .900 save percentage) and is tied for fourth in high-danger saves (259) this season. -- Jensen

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Additional sleeper candidates from other countries:

-Nino Niederreiter, F, Switzerland (Winnipeg Jets)
-Oliver Bjorkstrand, F, Denmark (Tampa Bay Lightning)
-Simon Nemec, D, Slovakia (New Jersey Devils)
-Uvis Balinskis, D, Latvia (Florida Panthers)
-Alexandre Texier, F, France (Montreal Canadiens)

NOTE: Italy has been excluded from this list as its roster does not have anyone with past NHL experience in his career; those players, therefore, do not have any EDGE puck and player tracking stats.