Team Canada’s Olympic roster will be revealed in less than two weeks and it appears Connor Bedard will not be a part of it.
The Chicago Blackhawks star centre is currently on injured reserve with an upper-body injury and expected back in the new year. The injury put a hold on an impressive third season in the league, but it may not have been enough to secure his spot in Italy.
TSN Hockey Insiders Chris Johnston and Pierre LeBrun both reported Thursday that Bedard appears set to miss out on at least the initial roster for the 2026 Games.
“What I can tell you is that, internally, Bedard’s season opened some eyes,” Johnston explained on Insider Trading. “He definitely has some backers among the people making this decision, but I’m not sure at this point thatit’s going to be enough to see him named to the initial roster of players on Dec. 31. Of course, injuries or a couple of other things could crop up in the meantime, but as of right now, it doesn’t appear to the case.
“I’d say what’s important is that Bedard works his way back from his shoulder injury. That January window is still vital to players not on the roster. Canada is going to identify some reserves in case of injury prior to the February start of this event, and Bedard certainly is very high in the mix in that conversation.”
The 20-year-old centre suffered his injury with just 0.8 seconds left in a loss to the St. Louis Blues last week. He has 19 goals and 44 points in 31 games this season, which had put him on pace to blow past his career-best numbers.
Bedard won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2023-24 after tallying 61 points in 68 games before accumulating 23 goals and 44 assists over 82 games last year.
Team Canada has the majority of its roster set internally for the Olympics but are few spots are still up for grabs.
“My understanding is that they’re down to about five roster decisions here as we get near the Dec. 31 deadline, which is also the same day they’ll announce the roster,” LeBrun said.
“Team Canada’s management group had another call slated for Thursday night, where they would go over some of these agonizing decisions that they still have to make.
“Up front, these are the four forwards that I believe are highest among the list of guys that were not at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year: Macklin Celebrini, Tom Wilson, Bo Horvat and Nick Suzuki. I think Celebrini and Wilson are as close to locks as there are, and then it’s a question of: Can you take Horvat or Suzuki, or is there room for both? I’m not sure. I think there will be two to three changes, at most, up front from the 4 Nations.
“The other debate is this: if you are taking Tom Wilson, is there room on the roster for Wilson and Sam Bennett, and Brad Marchand, who all bring their own level of spice to the roster? As someone said to me today: Is it one of those three? Two of those three? Or do we take all three?”
On defence, 18-year-old Matthew Schaefer is putting together a convincing case with the New York Islanders just months after being selected first overall in June’s draft. Evan Bouchard has also picked up his production after a slow start with the Edmonton Oilers to put himself in the conversation.
Schaefer has nine goals and 23 points in 34 games while averaging 23:48 of ice time in his rookie season. That number has jumped to 24:59 through eight games in December as the Islanders lean heavily on their budding star.
Bouchard, 26, has six goals and 32 points in 35 games this season while averaging 23:58 of ice time. After being a minus-9 in October, Bouchard is now plus-3 on the season. He had seven goals and 23 points in in 22 playoff games this past spring and six goals and 32 points in 25 games the postseason prior.
“It is a real possibility,” LeBrun said of Schaefer making the team. “It’s not a slam dunk, but he remains in the conversation this late in the game, which is saying something. People keep waiting for him to hit a wall, and it’s not happening. He keeps forcing his way into the conversation, and I think the conversation is: Does Team Canada take him as the eighth defenceman and then let him work from there?
“Evan Bouchard, I wouldn’t write him completely off either. I know a lot of people have, but I was told that his name has crept back up in conversations as well.
“So, is it Schafer or Bouchard for the eighth spot? And here’s another thing I was told today. What if they just take the same eight defencemen that played at 4 Nations? That’s also potentially on the table and remains unresolved. That’s why they keep having these calls.”
From the 4 Nations roster, Cale Makar has already been named to the Olympic team. He was joined on the blueline last February by Devon Toews, Shea Theodore, Josh Morrissey, Drew Doughty, Colton Parayko, and Travis Sanheim, with Thomas Harley joining later in the tournament as an injury replacement.
