A WAY TO EARLY LOOK AT TEAM USA’S POTENTIAL LINEUP FOR THE 2026 WINTER OLYMPICS

The next team that I’ll preview a lineup for the 2026 Olympics are the good ol American boys. Boy oh boy, do they have a team that could honestly win gold. Although we're still 6 years out from the tournament actually happening, this team is too good not to at least mention a few times. 

Forward Lines 

          Left Wing                             Center               Right Wing 

          Matthew Tkachuk               Auston Matthews           Alex Debrincat 

                    Kyle Connor                Jack Eichel        Brock Boeser 

      Johnny Gaudreau            Jack Hughes         Brady Tkachuk

          Trevor Zegras                  Dylan Larkin        Cole Caufield 

This American forward core is so disgusting to me. On the “first line,” you have the 2way winger in Matt Tkachuk on a line with extremely deadly goal scorers in Auston Matthews and Alex Debrincat who will both be in their primes for this tournament. I think the viewers might need to brace themselves for pure greatness when they watch this line together in 2026. And then throughout the rest of the lineup, you’ve also have really good players like Jack Eichel, Johnny Gaudreau, Kyle Connor, etc. Overall, this forward core has the potential to drag this team by themselves to at least a medal at this tournament. 

Honourable mentions: Jake Guentzel, J.T Miller, Maddox Flemming, Frank Nazar, Chaz Lucius, Matthew Beniers, Clayton Keller, Nick Robertson, Alex Turcotte, Arthur Kaliyev.

                          

Defence Pairings

                Left Defence             Right Defence

                Zach Werenski         Seth Jones 

                Quinn Hughes             Charlie McAvoy

                Jaccob Slavin             Jake Sanderson               

Team USA’s blueline for the 2026 Winter Olympics is looking really good. A lot of this team (including the blueline) will be in their primes. Werenski and Jones will most likely be the anchors on the blueline due to John Carlson and Torey Krug being old when the tournament happens. Quinn Hughes is a terrific offensive dman and having Charlie McAvoy with him will surely help cover his mistakes. I’m a big fan of Jake Sanderson. His shutdown defensive ability is really impressive to watch. Pairing him with an experienced veteran who also plays a shutdown style of game like a Jaccob Slavin will only do wonders for Team USA.

Honourable mentions: Luke Hughes, Aidan Hreschuk, Vinny Borgesi, Seamus Casey, Cam York.

Goaltenders 

Connor Hellebuyck (starter)

John Gibson (backup)

Spencer Knight (3rd string goalie)

The goaltenders for this team were probably the hardest to choose from out of the 3 positions. You’ve got Connor Hellebuyck who played out of his mind this season and a netminder in John Gibson who probably should’ve won a Vezina by now. They will both be in their early 30s when 2026 rolls around. Don’t sleep on Spencer Knight however. He’s USA’s best goalie prospect by far. He was lights out at Boston College this year posting a 1.97 GAA and a .931 SV % as a freshman. I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone of these 3 are the starter when the tournament happens, but Spencer Knight will surely be the starter for Team USA at the 2030 Winter Olympics. 

Honourable mentions for netminders in 2026: Joseph Woll, Thatcher Demko, Cayden Primeau, Jake Oettinger. 

Whichever players they select for the 2026 Winter Olympics will surely be good ones and I can’t wait to see these players all play together on the same team!

Leadership group predictions: 

Captain - Auston Matthews 

Assistant captain #1 - Jack Eichel

Assistant captain #2 - Seth Jones 

By: Luka Tkalcevic (Instagram: luka_tkalcevic, futurehockeystars)