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Team USA has announced its 2026 Olympic hockey roster just over a month before the puck drops in Italy. The talent pool has never been deeper for the Americans, and that led to some tough decisions as Team USA built a roster expected to compete for the gold medal in February.

Team USA already announced Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy to the Olympic roster earlier this year. That meant 19 spots were available, and general manager Bill Guerin chose from at least two dozen players worthy of making of the roster.

After being left off the 4 Nations Face-Off roster around this time last year, Jason Robertson had a point to prove. In the calendar year of 2025, Robertson scored 49 goals. Only two players, Morgan Geekie and Nathan MacKinnon, scored more. His 97 points ranked sixth in the NHL over that span. Despite those efforts, Robertson was left off the Olympic roster.

Team Canada 2026 Olympic hockey roster: Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon join forces to lead favorites
Austin Nivison
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Another young goal-scorer, Cole Caufield, hoped to play his way onto the team. There were questions about whether the undersized Caufield (5-foot-8 and 175 pounds) would convince Team USA leadership that he could thrive in an intense best-on-best tournament. Ultimately, Caufield will remain at home while Team USA goes overseas.

As always, the Americans have an embarrassment of riches in goal, and they had a laundry list of options to choose from with three-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck leading the way.

Here is the complete 2026 Olympic roster for Team USA:

*denotes player already announced

Forwards

Defense

Goaltenders

Robertson, Fox snubbed

Leaving Robertson off this roster is completely and utterly indefensible. He's one of the best scorers in the league, and he upped his game after getting snubbed from the 4 Nations Face-Off last year. What more does the Team USA front office need to see from him?

Taking Miller, Connor and Trocheck over Robertson is absurd. Miller, now 32, is on pace for his least productive season since 2018-19. Trocheck has topped 30 goals in a single season once, but that was all the way back in 2017-18. At least Connor provides you with some scoring touch, but he gives it all back on the defensive end. Robertson should have been an easy choice over any of those players.

When it comes to Fox, the idea that the Americans took two Rangers while leaving perhaps the team's best player at home, boggles the mind. Since the start of the 2024-25 season, New York has outscored opponents 91-63 with Fox on the ice at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. That plus-28 goal differential leads the team, and no one else is even remotely close. Do the decision-makers for Team USA (which include Rangers general manager Chris Drury) think those numbers are just a coincidence?

Faber is a good young defenseman who plays tough minutes -- and a lot of them. Having said that, the Minnesota Wild just stay afloat with Faber in the game. The Rangers excel when Fox is on the ice. Guerin, the Wild general manager, should have made the tough choice to bring Fox over Faber.

Elite goaltending depth

Most teams in the Olympics would love to trade places with the United States when it comes to the goaltending position. Just ask Canada. The Americans had a lot of options for the third spot in the crease with Hellebuyck and Oettinger essentially locked in as No. 1 and No. 2.

Swayman of the Boston Bruins wound up getting the final spot, and that's understandable. He's played at a Vezina Trophy level in the NHL, and when Swayman is on, he can be unbeatable. That's not a bad guy to have third on the depth chart.

That said, I think there was at least one more goalie who warranted serious consideration. Spencer Knight has done his best to make the Chicago Blackhawks respectable by saving 9.05 goals above average, per Natural Stat Trick. That ranks ninth in the NHL, and Knight has a sparkling .861 high-danger save percentage.

Ultimately, there were no bad decisions for the Americans when it came to their third goalie spot. It's a good problem to have, and it's a big reason why this team has a shot to win gold in Italy.

Good enough for gold?

Despite a couple clear missteps in the roster construction department, Team USA is still capable of ending the country's 46-year gold medal drought. The Americans have just made it a little harder on themselves.

I've already laid out Team USA's advantage in net. If just one of Hellebuyck, Oettinger or Swayman are at the top of their game, the team should cruise to the medal round. From there, any of them have the ability to steal a win in a do-or-die situation.

In front of them, the defense is still rock solid, even without Fox. The Americans didn't have Hughes, the second-best defenseman in the world, at the 4 Nations Face-Off and still pushed Canada to overtime. Slavin and Jones provide the length and mobility necessary to slow down Canadian speed demons like Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon.

Finally, the omission of Robertson caps the Americans' upside, but Thompson and Keller were pleasant surprises. Both have a ton of skill, and Team USA needs that to complement some players who prefer a more grinding style. While Matthews has struggled this season, he's led the NHL in goals three times, and the Tkachuk brothers will be menaces on the forecheck.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Team USA has the second-best odds (+200) to win gold in Italy, per DraftKings. 

This team is more talented and deeper than any Olympic team the Americans have iced before.