Avalanche stars Gabe Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar named to initial 2026 Olympics rosters ...Middle East

When Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar put on the Canada jersey for the first time in a best-on-best men’s tournament in February, their Colorado Avalanche captain should have lined up against them.

They might get that chance next February at the 2026 Winter Olympics. MacKinnon and Makar were two of the six players named to the Canadian Olympic team on Monday. All 12 participating nations announced their first six players for the Olympics, which will be held Feb. 6-22 in Milan and Cortina, Italy.

MacKinnon and Makar, two of the three finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award this season and two of the top-six finishers in the Hart Trophy voting, were not a surprise. Same for Martin Necas being named to Czechia’s roster after being the second-highest scoring Czech player in the NHL this season.

The one surprise was Avs captain Gabe Landeskog, who is one of the first six selected to play for Sweden. Landeskog missed the past three regular seasons with right knee issues. At the time of the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, there was no clarity on when he might return to practice, let alone actual games.

Landeskog did return to action after 1,230 days away — first in two games with the Colorado Eagles and then for the final five games of the Avs’ first-round series with the Dallas Stars. Landeskog’s comeback was remarkable, as he quickly settled in as one of Colorado’s better players in the series.

This will be the first Winter Olympics for many of the world’s best players, including MacKinnon, Makar and Necas. Landeskog won a silver medal for Sweden at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

The NHL did not participate in the 2018 or 2022 Games. Russia and Belarus remain ineligible due to the ongoing war with Ukraine.

Canada and Czechia are in Group A, along with Switzerland and France. Sweden is in Group B, along with rival Finland, Slovakia and Italy. Group C features the United States, Germany, Latvia and Denmark.

This quartet of Avs should be joined by Artturi Lehkonen, who wasn’t one of Finland’s first six but is a lock to play for his country, assuming good health. Devon Toews is a solid bet to join MacKinnon and Makar.

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Brock Nelson played for the Americans at Four Nations, but could need a strong start to next season to keep his spot. Mackenzie Blackwood might have made Canada’s roster had he started last year with the Avalanche and could play his way into the Olympics next season.

Canada has won the past four best-on-best events with NHL players, dating back to the 2010 Olympics. Connor McDavid scored in overtime to help the Canadians defeat the Americans to win the Four Nations tournament.

MacKinnon was named tournament MVP after scoring four times in four games, including the opening goal of the final. Canada went 3-0 in the games that Makar dressed for, losing the one (United States) that he missed because of an illness.

That game, which began with three fights in the first minute, was a cultural flash point for hockey and brought significantly more interest in the tournament than expected. The final game drew an ESPN record for hockey audience of 9.3 million viewers, while more than 10 million watched on Sportsnet in Canada.

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