United States roster for 2026 Winter Olympics includes Keller, Werenski

The United States unveiled its roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 on Friday, naming a group that will try to bring the country its first gold medal since 1980.

“We’re excited about our team and congratulate everyone named today,” said Bill Guerin, general manager of the U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team. “It was incredibly difficult for our management group to get to the final roster and that’s a credit to so many in our country, including all those at the grassroots level who help make our sport so strong. There’s nothing like the Olympics and I know our players and staff will represent our country well and work hard to achieve our ultimate goal.”

There are some notable changes to the team that finished second in the 4 Nations Face-Off, with forwards Clayton Keller of the Utah Mammoth and Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres being added to the 4 Nations roster and Chris Kreider of the Anaheim Ducks coming off.

There are two changes on defense and each are significant. Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild was injured and did not play in the 4 Nations. Now he’s healthy. The other change is Jackson LaCombe of the Anaheim Ducks replacing Adam Fox of the New York Rangers. Seth Jones was initially named to the roster, but was replaced by LaCombe due to injury.

This is the first group of NHL players to represent the United States at the Olympics since 2014, when NHL players most recently participated.

"We have a really good group of young, hungry Americans that haven't played in the Olympics before," said New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes on NBC's "Today Show," where the roster was first unveiled. "So we're lucky that NHLers are back in the Olympics, first time in 12 years. Guys are pumped up, and we should be really excited."

The tournament will feature all 12 teams playing three preliminary games in their respective groups.

The three group winners and the best second-place team will get a bye into the quarterfinals; the other eight teams will play single-elimination games to determine the other four quarterfinalists.
The gold medal game will be held on Feb. 22.

“The two goals a kid dreams of are the Stanley Cup and a gold medal," Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski said. "Every year you get a chance to try and play for the Stanley Cup. Every year starts fresh, you get a chance to play for the playoffs and hopefully you get there and then hopefully win a Stanley Cup, whereas the Olympics, it's every four years. In this case, it's been 12 years. So this is at the top of my list of accomplishments as a hockey player, making it to an Olympics."

Team USA which is in Group C, will open against Team Latvia on Feb. 12, then play Team Denmark on Feb. 14 and Team Germany on Feb. 15.

The United States has not won a gold medal in men's hockey since 1980 in Lake Placid, New York.

"I mean, if you're a hockey player in the U.S., you grew up watching "Miracle on Ice," and that's like the biggest USA memory," Hughes said. "And you know, every hockey player wants to grow up and play in the NHL, but I think the biggest dream is playing in the Olympics. So it's such an honor. It's such a privilege to be back and have that opportunity and just really exciting and a special thing that you can have your whole life."

Here is the Team United States roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 (in alphabetical order) and a breakdown by NHL.com of each position group:

Explore NHL.com's Coverage of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026

FORWARDS (14)

Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild

Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets

Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights

Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils

Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning

Clayton Keller, Utah Mammoth

Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings

Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

J.T. Miller, New York Rangers

Brock Nelson, Colorado Avalanche
Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators

Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers

Tage Thompson, Buffalo Sabres
Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers

Thompson and Keller add some scoring punch to a group that played well at 4 Nations but couldn’t get the goal in overtime of the final vs. Canada. They make the roster, while Patrick Kane of the Red Wings and Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens are left off. It will be interesting to see how Connor is deployed – he was a healthy scratch in the 4 Nations final.

DEFENSEMEN (8)

Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild

Noah Hanifin, Vegas Golden Knights

Quinn Hughes, Minnesota Wild
Jackson LaCombe, Anaheim Ducks*
Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins

Jake Sanderson, Ottawa Senators

Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes

Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets

* - injury replacement for Seth Jones, Florida Panthers

Hughes is the obvious big addition on the U.S. back end. You can count McAvoy among the most important additions, too. McAvoy was injured during the tournament and did not play in the last two games. But if they remain healthy, they could make up the United States' top defense pair in the Olympics.

GOALIES (3)

Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars

Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins

Hellebuyck was the clear No. 1 at the 4 Nations, but there could be competition this time around with Oettinger vying for the stater’s net. Whoever it is, the U.S. will have a strong force between the pipes.

NHL.com independent correspondent Craig Merz contributed to this report