Jan 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. men’s ice hockey team, aiming to end a decades-long Olympic title drought at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Games, boasts strong goaltending, a solid defensive core and high-powered forwards expected to deliver balanced scoring, according to the roster announced on Friday.
The 25-player lineup, which includes two sets of brothers and two returnees from the 2022 Beijing Games, is nearly identical to the one that lost to rival Canada in overtime in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
“It was incredibly difficult for our management group to get to the final roster and that’s a credit to so many in our country, including all those at the grassroots level who help make our sport so strong," Team USA General Manager Bill Guerin said in a press release.
"There’s nothing like the Olympics and I know our players and staff will represent our country well and work hard to achieve our ultimate goal.”
GOLD MEDAL DROUGHT
With NHL players back in the Olympic mix for the first time since 2014, expectations are sky-high for a U.S. program seeking its first hockey gold since the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Lake Placid Games. Team USA have not made an Olympic podium since the 2010 Vancouver Games where they lost to Canada in the gold-medal game.
Connor Hellebuyck, who has been voted the NHL's best goaltender each of the last two seasons and started in three of four games for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off, was one of three goalies named to the roster with Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettinger.
Brady and Matthew Tkachuk and Quinn and Jack Hughes make up the two sets of brothers on the team. The Tkachuks and Quinn Hughes were among the six players named to the preliminary roster in June along with forwards Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel and defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
TWO RETURNING PLAYERS
Defensemen Jake Sanderson and Brock Faber, who both represented the U.S. at the 2022 Beijing Olympics as college players, are the only members of the team with Olympic experience.
The roster features 21 players who wore the stars and stripes at the 4 Nations Face-Off, while four helped Team USA capture gold at the 2025 men's world championship.
The men's ice hockey tournament at the Milano-Cortina Olympics runs from February 11 to 22. The United States have been placed in Group C alongside Germany, Latvia and Denmark.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, Editing by Louise Heavens)
