No Minnesota Wild Players on 2026 Winter Olympic Rosters, Yet – Wilderness Walk

The 12 nations that will participate in hockey for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy next year unveiled the first six players of their roster Monday. To build up some hype and force people to remember that this is the first Olympic Games to feature NHL players since 2014, the stars of the team were set in stone months before the first puck is dropped for the 2025-26 NHL season.

Unfortunately, for now, there are now members of the Minnesota Wild on the roster. There certainly will be, as we saw how heavily represented the Wild were at the 4 Nations Face-Off. But when we’re talking about the players that are going to be on the roster no matter how they start next season, no Wild player was named.

• Can the Wild improve next season if they stand pat? Is there enough room for development and just potential rebounding seasons (like not being injured for most of it) for them to just keep the status quo? [Hockey Wilderness]
• While it doesn’t include any Wild players (yet), Team USA unveiled the first six players of its roster and it’s who you expect. [NHL.com]

Off the trail…

• Can Calvin Pickard backstop yet another Edmonton Oilers rally? Or do they go with Stuart Skinner in a do-or-die Game 6? [ESPN]
• How Paul Maurice truly impacted the Florida Panthers and turned them into a modern juggernaut. [ESPN]
• Mitch Marner and his agent reportedly won’t even talk with the Toronto Maple Leafs about a new contract before he hits free agency. [DailyHive]
• On that note, could the Anaheim Ducks, with all their cap space, target both Marner and John Tavares? [Daily Faceoff]

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