Habs captain Nick Suzuki named to Team Canada for the Milan-Cortina Olympics

Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki was selected to Team Canada for the men’s hockey tournament at the Milan-Cortina Olympics on Wednesday.

Suzuki is among the 25 players selected by the general manager of the Canadian team, Doug Armstrong, and his staff to participate in the Olympic tournament, which will be held from February 11 to 22.

“I received a call from Julien BriseBois (an assistant general manager),” Suzuki said . “I didn’t want to think about it too much, but I had trouble sleeping. I tried to do everything I could to help my team win and to leave a good impression. I’m happy to have been selected.”

Suzuki has collected 13 goals and 44 points in 39 games this season in the NHL, with a plus-13 rating. He is currently 17th in ^league scoring.

“It’s one thing to play in the Montreal market, but it’s even more one to be the Canadiens’ captain and continue to play at a high level,” Armstrong said. “He’s effective over 200 feet and can help in many situations. I’ll leave it to our head coach (Jon Cooper) to determine his role on our team.”

Suzuki is one of four forwards who were added to Canada’s roster after being overlooked for the Four Nations Tournament, which took place in February and was won by the Maple Leaf.

The others are 19-year-old forward Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks, Bo Horvat of the New York Islanders, and Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals.

Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers, Travis Konecny ​​of the Philadelphia Flyers, and Seth Jarvis of the Carolina Hurricanes are the forwards who were not retained after their participation in the Four Nations Showdown.

Canada’s management has retained the same eight defensemen as during the NHL tournament in February, but has changed two of its three goaltenders, with Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues) returning in net. Darcy Kuemper of the Los Angeles Kings and Logan Thompson of the Capitals will replace Adin Hill of the Vegas Golden Knights and Samuel Montembeault of the Montreal Canadiens.

“We are very pleased to announce the list of 25 athletes who will have the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2026 Olympic Games,” said Armstrong. “We believe we have assembled a team with a great deal of talent and depth that will allow us to compete for the gold medal in Italy. Finalizing our roster was a long and difficult process, and I am proud of the tireless efforts of our management group in selecting our team.”

Anthony Cirelli (Tampa Bay Lightning), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), Brandon Hagel (Lightning), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), Brad Marchand (Panthers), Mitch Marner (Golden Knights), Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers), Brayden Point (Lightning), Sam Reinhart (Panthers) and Mark Stone (Golden Knights) are the other forwards selected for the Olympic tournament.

Drew Doughty (Kings), Thomas Harley (Dallas Stars), Cale Makar (Avalanche), Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg Jets), Colton Parayko (Blues), Travis Sanheim (Flyers), Shea Theodore (Golden Knights) and Devon Toews (Avalanche) will pilot the Canadian blue line.

Crosby, MacKinnon, Makar, McDavid, Point and Reinhart had already received confirmation of their selection to Team Canada in June.

“I am honored to have been selected to Team Canada’s men’s hockey team alongside so many outstanding players and people, and I am excited to represent the nation again in February and once again strive for the gold medal,” said Crosby. “We know the pride of wearing Canada’s colours, and we know how passionate Olympic hockey is.”

All the players will be at their first Olympic Games, except for Crosby and Doughty, who both won consecutive Olympic gold medals in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014.

The selected players collectively won 22 Stanley Cups, 10 gold medals at the World Junior Hockey Championship and eight gold medals at the World Hockey Championship.

Team Canada has won 16 Olympic medals in men’s hockey, including nine gold. The most recent Olympic hockey tournament to feature NHL players was held in Sochi, where Canada took gold.

Canada will begin the men’s Olympic tournament on February 12 against the Czech Republic. They will then face Switzerland and France to conclude their preliminary round.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews