First Six Players Named To U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team Are A Highly Competitive Group
The first six players named to the 2026 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team – Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk, Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy – will all bring a variety of skillsets to the red, white and blue this coming February in Milan, Italy.
However, Bill Guerin, general manager of the 2026 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team and also the general manager and president of hockey operations of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, does see a unifying characteristic among the group of players who were named to the roster Monday by USA Hockey.
The first six all have a ‘high compete’ level when they step foot on the ice, Guerin explained during a conference call with members of the media.
“We look back at the 4 Nations tournament, and the one thing we all took away – I think everybody can take away – is that there's just no room out there. You have to be able to play in tight hockey games. You have to be highly competitive, and I think these six players represent that.”
Guerin knows first-hand too. He was a three-time Olympian (1998, 2002 and 2006) during his 18-year playing career, winning a silver medal in 2002, and he also helped lead the U.S. to the 1996 World Cup of Hockey championship.
The 2013 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inductee knows the compete level at the 2026 Olympics will be another level of intensity for all 12 countries with current NHL players participating for the first time since the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
Eichel, Matthews, Hughes, McAvoy and the Tkachuks will be playing in their first Olympics and were between the ages of 14-17 in 2014.
“It's great that the NHL players are back in the Olympics,” Guerin said. “Obviously, it's the biggest sports stage in the world. We're all really happy that we're back involved. Having the opportunity to be an Olympic athlete myself, there's nothing bigger and better than that. To be able to represent your country at the Olympic Games is one of the biggest honors you can have as an athlete, and now to be able to be the general manager, I never thought I'd be sitting in this seat, but funny things do happen along the way and I'm very honored to be doing it. It’s a privilege.”
The men’s Olympic hockey tournament begins Feb. 11, 2026, in Milan with the gold-medal game slated for Feb. 22. The United States will be in Group C along with Germany, Latvia and Denmark.
The United States will be entering the 2026 Olympic Winter Games with plenty of momentum in its pursuit of its first men’s Olympic gold medal since 1980.
The U.S. Men’s National Team won the IIHF Men’s World Championship for the first time since 1933 last month, and all six players named to the U.S. Olympic squad Monday were members of the American team that finished in second place at the 4 Nations Face-Off this past February.
We’re just getting started. Introducing the first six members of the 2026 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team #WinterOlympics
Details: https://t.co/4QYVHZbKlz pic.twitter.com/bs7Ib4xRu4
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) June 16, 2025
Introducing USA's six preliminary players for the #MilanoCortina #Olympics! pic.twitter.com/itU719l8MJ
— NHL (@NHL) June 16, 2025
The first six players named to the 2026 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team are all alumni of the NTDP #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/fvDElIONkn
— USA Hockey’s NTDP (@USAHockeyNTDP) June 16, 2025
The remainder of the 25-man U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team is expected to be announced in early January 2026. USA Hockey will conduct an Olympic orientation camp for candidates of its men’s Olympic team in late August in Plymouth, Michigan, as part of its process.
Guerin will also be keeping a close eye on potential players during the first few months of the NHL regular season.
“We've got to see who's playing well,” Guerin said. “We had a bunch of guys that showed up for the world championship team and produced of our first gold medal there in 90 something years and there are guys that put themselves in a much better spot because of that, so we just really have to start from scratch again and rebuild the team.”
One player who is excelling currently on the ice is none other than Matthew Tkachuk, who soared into national stardom during the 4 Nations Face-off alongside his brother, Brady, and their American teammates. Matthew may very well be a two-time Stanley Cup champion by the end of this week as the 27-year-old’s Florida Panthers hold a 3-2 lead in the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers. He leads the Panthers with seven goals and 15 assists this postseason.
The reigning Stanley Cup champions have helped grow the game throughout the Sunshine State alongside the Tampa Lightning and their two Stanley Cup title runs in 2020 and 2021. One of the two teams have represented the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final the last six seasons, as Florida continues to become a hotbed for hockey. In the community, meanwhile, USA Hockey player participation in Florida has increased nearly 92% since 2012-13.
USA Hockey as a whole saw growth nationwide this past season with participation numbers increasing to 577,864, including 396,525 players at the youth level.
Now, the country’s best hockey players will not only be representing the United States on the world stage in eight months, but they may also be the latest group of Olympians to inspire the next generation to pick up a hockey stick.
That is not lost upon Guerin.
“We're just really proud of being a part of this bigger picture and growing the game and getting it more on the forefront,” Guerin concluded. “We have some of the greatest athletes in the world. It was nice to see them kind of catapulted to the top (with the 4 Nations Face-off) and it’s really nice to be a part of that and we have some great athletes.
“The games never been in a better spot. These guys are fast they're more skilled and dedicated than they ever have been and the games in a really, really good spot.”
Source: usahockey.com