The 2026 Winter Olympics are roughly two and a half months away, with the rosters set to be announced sometime in early-January. The Colorado Avalanche already have four players who were named to rosters when the first six for each country were announced back on February 8th. Those players, Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon (Team Canada), Martin Necas (Team Czechia), and Gabriel Landeskog (Team Sweden), were pretty obvious choices for their respective teams. Today I'm going to discuss other Avalanche players who may be fighting for a position on an Olympic roster.
Players already projected to make the roster
There are players on the team who haven't been officially named to a roster but are pretty much locks anyways. Of course, the most obvious will be Team Canada selecting Devon Toews to keep the Toews-Makar pairing together. After that, Artturi Lehkonen is another virtual lock for Team Finland. Both of these players made the 4 Nations rosters for their teams, so it's pretty safe to say they'll make their country's upcoming Olympic rosters.
Players fighting for a spot
Here's where things get a little interesting as there are quite a few Avalanche players who have an outside shot at making the team. It'll be interesting to see how these rosters shake out as a number of projected NHL players throughout the league have suffered injuries, hindering chances to make an Olympic roster.
Brock Nelson
Brock Nelson is an interesting case, as he was on Team USA in the 4 Nations tournament. However, there are already a couple of names from last year's 4 Nations roster that could miss the cut. New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes recent injury puts him out for a couple months, just prior to the start of the Olympics. This could severely jeopardize his chances to make the Olympic team. In addition to that, JT Miller, center and captain for the New York Rangers, has had a bit of a down season. There's a possibility that Team USA chooses Nelson to fill in for one of these two.
Victor Olofsson
Victor Olofsson is a bit harder to make a case for, though him slotting in as a 13th or 14th forward for Team Sweden is a possibility. His elite shot could be a useful weapon for the team, especially on the power play. As far as making room for him, injuries are probably the only way for him to make the roster. The only Swede currently injured is Pittsburgh's Rickard Rakell and he's slated to return sometime shortly before the Olympics begin. The other issue for Olofsson is that there are number of other players on the fringe of making the Swedish roster.
Joel Kiviranta
This is probably the longest shot of the players on this list. Joel Kiviranta has already been injured and was already a fringe possibility before that. He is skating again and he should return to the Avalanche soon, but he's not even likely to see much time after the emergence of Gavin Brindley and the imminent return of Logan O'Connor. He's even less likely to be a 13th or 14th forward for Team Finland unless there are quite a few injuries.
Mackenzie Blackwood
Perhaps the most important possibility for Avalanche fans is Mackenzie Blackwood. Blackwood only has three games under his belt this season, even though he returned from injury a few weeks ago. Jared Bednar has been bringing him back slowly while riding Scott Wedgewood's stellar play to start the season. There's been some controversy about Blackwood's lack of minutes since his return.
While no one would say it out loud, it's possible that the Olympics are playing a part in the Avs decision to bring him up slowly. Having your starter goaltender play extra games in the Olympics isn't exactly something that any team would be looking forward to, especially one who has already missed time due to injury.
Blackwood probably has the best chance to make the team out of all of these players, simply because the goaltending situation for Team Canada is in a very rough state. St. Louis Blues starter and 4 Nations hero Jordan Binnington is having a rough campaign so far this season and Sam Montembault has also had a tough season. It's possible that Canada decides against Binnington and Montembault and moves forward with two other goalies. There's a high chance that one of those replacements is Mackenzie Blackwood.
Scott Wedgewood
Oddly enough, Wedgewood's early-season play has garnered some interest as a dark horse candidate for a spot on Team Canada's goaltending roster. Wedgewood's had an amazing start, leading the league in wins and at the top of the league in both GAA and save percentage. While consideration for Wedgewood is likely to be low right now, if he continues to steal some of Blackwood's starts and continues to play at this level, he could definitely force himself into the conversation
The Avalanche have a number of players who could make their respective rosters for their countries in the Olympics. The most intriguing aspect of this whole situation has to be the possibility of either, or both, goaltenders making Team Canada's roster. Only time will tell if any of those players manages to have a chance at an Olympic medal.