Former Vancouver Canucks forward among those named to Canada's 2026 Winter Olympic roster
A former Vancouver Canucks forward was among 25 players named to Canada's 2026 Winter Olympics roster with less than 50 days to go until the tournament begins.
We're getting ever so close to National Hockey League players returning to the ice at the Winter Olympics after an agreement was reached in conjunction with the International Ice Hockey Federation, the International Olympic Committee and the National Hockey League Players' Association.
For the first time since 2014, NHL players will be back representing their nations on the biggest stage, and among those will be Vancouver Canucks forward Teddy Blueger, who will suit up for Latvia, with other members of the organization, including Filip Hronek (Czechia) and Elias Pettersson (Sweden), also expected to be named to their respective country's rosters in the coming days.
On Wednesday, Hockey Canada became the second of the 12 nations participating at the men's tournament of the 2026 Winter Olympics to unveil their roster and there's a very familiar face to Vancouver Canucks fans.
Former Vancouver Canuck among those named to Canada's 2026 Winter Olympic roster
At a press conference in Minnesota earlier today, Hockey Canada announced the 25 players that will wear the Maple Leaf on their sweater in Milano-Cortina, Italy starting on February 12th.
Canada's roster includes a ton of talent including four from British Columbia - Macklin Celebrini, Sam Reinhart, Shea Theodore, Devon Toews, along with several big stars, some of whom were named back in June - Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Connor McDavid.
Also on Canada's roster is former Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat, who spent the first eight-and-a-half seasons of his National Hockey League career in the Lower Mainland before being traded to the New York Islanders in January of 2023.
"Bo has a lot of the attributes we're looking for. We want to be able to play inside, get to the net. He's a player that played left wing with [Nathan] MacKinnon at the World Championships last year. He can play multiple positions for us. Of the players we selected, he's our highest face-off guy, so he adds that element to the selection process." Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong said.
He added, "Just an all-around, good 200-foot player that can touch both ends of the special teams, if needed, and has a multi positional aspect to him that made him a very appealing player for us."
He added, "Just an all-around, good 200-foot player that can touch both ends of the special teams, if needed, and has a multi positional aspect to him that made him a very appealing player for us."
Horvat, a native of London, Ontario, has represented Canada on a number of occasions during his hockey career including the 2025 IIHF World Hockey Championship where he unfortunately suffered an injury that ended his tournament early.
Canada is set to begin their quest for a gold medal on Thursday, February 12th at 7:40 am PT against Czechia. As part of the preliminary round, Canada will also face Switzerland (Friday, February 13th at 12:10 pm PT) and France (Sunday, February 14th at 7:40 am PT).
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 31|1637 ANSWERS Former Vancouver Canucks forward among those named to Canada's 2026 Winter Olympic roster Do you think Bo Horvat and Team Canada will win gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics? | ||
| Yes | 1289 | 78.7 % |
| No | 348 | 21.3 % |
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