Canada Olympic roster debate: Connor Bedard’s role, depth on defense and who starts in goal? – The Athletic

On Friday’s episode of “The Athletic Hockey Show,” a panel featuring Max Bultman, Scott Wheeler, Corey Pronman and FloHockey’s Chris Peters constructed a Team Canada depth chart for the 2026 Olympics featuring 15 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders.

The construction of the bottom of the lineup and the blue line required navigating philosophical divides on size, “heaviness,” the balance between veterans versus young talent and what roles players would ultimately fill.

Here’s a breakdown of the key topics, debates and the agonizing final cuts from the panel’s session.

Forwards

Celebrini’s rise

A few months ago, Macklin Celebrini was considered a strong candidate for this team, but was perhaps on the bubble. According to the panel, that hesitation has vanished.

The group was unanimous in placing Celebrini prominently within Canada’s lineup. The rationale is that Celebrini has quickly established himself as one of the NHL’s offensive leaders while possessing a mature, well-rounded game that includes top-end skating and competitiveness. Unlike other young players who may be brought to the Olympics mostly for their offense, Celebrini can offer other elements to a team and be able to drive play versus elite players.

Figuring out role players

Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, Mitch Marner, Sam Reinhart, Celebrini and Brayden Point were consensus picks for the top nine. The panel spent significant time debating the identity of the bottom six. The panel ultimately agreed that Mark Scheifele and Nick Suzuki deserved inclusion somewhere on the roster, given their very high level of play recently. After those nine players, though, there wasn’t as much agreement.

A recurring theme in the discussion was Canada’s lack of natural size among the forward group, especially with reports that the rink in Milan will be smaller than NHL size. This gave strong arguments to players such as Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel, Mark Stone, Tom Wilson and Brad Marchand, given their high compete levels and ability to play physical hockey.

Wilson was a focus of the conversation. Peters was the strongest proponent for Wilson, arguing that the tournament would be played at a high pace, with “heavy hockey” being a deciding factor. Peters noted that Wilson is playing the best hockey of his career, scoring at a nearly 50-goal pace, and brings an intimidation factor that helps a team control the interior of the ice. Conversely, Pronman expressed concern regarding Wilson’s discipline in an IIHF setting, where strict officiating, such as standards on head contact, could lead to penalty trouble. The group ultimately favored Marchand and Seth Jarvis for the high-energy/bottom-of-the-lineup role that will likely be a focus of conversation when the roster is announced.

The Bedard question: Top-six or 13th forward?

Connor Bedard was another unanimous selection, but his usage sparked disagreement, especially given his tremendous start to this NHL season. Wheeler placed Bedard in his top six, arguing that his offensive production and dynamic traits warrant a prominent role.

However, the rest of the panel viewed Bedard as a depth option or a power-play specialist. Pronman argued that while Bedard is a top offensive talent, he questioned whether Bedard could displace established two-way stars such as Reinhart or Marner in the top nine right now, suggesting that Bedard would likely start as the 13th forward.

Defensemen

The defense corps featured several locks: Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Josh Morrissey, Thomas Harley and most of the panel supported bringing Drew Doughty. However, they clashed over the final pairings, specifically debating the value of defensive specialists versus puck-movers.

Parayko vs. skill

The most heated exchange occurred over Colton Parayko. Most of the panel agreed that Parayko’s size and penalty-killing ability were essential, particularly to counter physical American forwards such as the Tkachuk brothers.

Wheeler strongly opposed Parayko’s inclusion, though, arguing that elite players such as Makar and Morrissey are capable of killing penalties and that Parayko’s struggles with puck management would be a liability. Wheeler emphasized that he would trust Makar “with the chips on the table” in defensive situations more than Parayko.

Parayko ultimately made the cut, and Shea Theodore, who was injured at the 4 Nations Face-Off, was included as the seventh defenseman.

The final spot: Youth vs. experience

For the eighth defensive spot, the panel considered four vastly different profiles:

Jakob Chychrun: Favored by Pronman for his skating, offense, size and shot.

Evan Bouchard: Favored by Wheeler as a power-play specialist and insurance policy for Makar.

Matthew Schaefer: Bultman’s choice as the most talented player of the group

Travis Sanheim: A steady, versatile option preferred by Peters.

With the vote split four ways, the group looked for a compromise. Bultman flipped his vote to Sanheim, securing the final spot on the blue line.

Goalies

Merit vs. tenure

The goaltending trio was quickly settled as Logan Thompson, Jordan Binnington and Darcy Kuemper. The debate shifted to who should start.

Pronman and Wheeler argued for Thompson, asserting that he has been the best goaltender of the group on merit this season. However, Peters noted that it would be difficult for Canada to move away from Binnington, the incumbent who delivered a gold medal a year prior, despite Binnington’s significant struggles this season for the Blues. Peters predicted Binnington would likely start Game 1, regardless of his early-season form.

The Athletic Hockey Show’s Team Canada Depth Chart