Three groups of four nations each will compete to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics later this week. These are the last spots open for men’s ice hockey. Learn about all 12 teams ahead of the games on August 29 through September 1.
It may be the start of the final week of August 2024. It is also the end of the qualification rounds for men’s ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics. From August 29 through September 1, twelve countries will compete in three groups of four. The winners of each group will go to Milan in February 2026 to represent their country in one of the biggest stages in international sports. Second through fourth place get to stay home. A lot is on the line in the three international games these teams will play later this week. Especially since the NHL has announced that they will pause the 2025-26 season to let its players go to Milan.
I still find it odd that qualification for a February 2026 event is ending in this Summer. It is the decision of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Nine spots are decided already with eight automatic qualifying nations (Russia is pending another IIHF decision in 2025) and the Olympic hosts Italy. The highest rated nations in 2023 outside of those nine are hosting these first-or-nothing groups. In a sport like hockey, there is no guarantee. As such, each nation is loading up as best as they can to ensure they get a shot to boost the sport and represent their country in the Olympics about 18 months from now. Let us preview the most meaningful hockey to be played this Summer in the world:
General Qualification Details
The Dates: August 29, 2024 – September 1, 2024
The Format: Three groups of four national teams. Each team plays each other once. Regulation wins get three points, overtime wins get two points, overtime losses get one point, and regulation losses get zero points. The first tiebreaker in the standings is head-to-head results.
The Prize: First place in the group goes to Milan. Everyone else in the group does not.
Incidentally, the men’s groups for Milan are already partially filled in. Group A will be Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, and Italy. One of the three qualifiers will go to Group B, joining Finland, Germany, and Czechia. Two of them will go to Group C to play Russia (2025 decision pending) and the United States.
The Ways to Watch These Games: According to the IIHF’s Youtube page, there are live streams set up for all games. That may be your best bet to watch these games.
You can also check the national team’s website for other options. Keep in mind that they may not be free. I know Ice Hockey UK, which is Great Britain’s organization, states they will stream their games. France will too, but through their Hockeyfrance.tv service, which starts charging after September 1.
Since there are three groups, let us look at them one by one. Any roster information is likely going to be based on camp roster as national teams are playing their final tune up games as late as this very weekend.
Group D Preview
The Site: The Ondrej Nepala Arena in Bratislava, Slovakia
The Schedule: From the IIHF website, it is here. Games are on August 29, August 30, and September 1. Two games per day. Game times are 8 AM and 12 PM ET.
The Teams: Slovakia (#9 in 2023), Kazakhstan (#15 in 2023), Austria (#16), Hungary (#18, moved up due to Belarus denied a chance to qualify)
Slovakia
The Roster: As reported from The Hockey News by Derek O’Brien, Slovakia announced their roster on August 19. I’ve bolded the NHL players here.
Goalies: Samuel Hlavaj, Denis Godla, Stanislav Škorvánek
Defensemen: Šimon Nemec, Martin Fehérváry, Patrik Koch, Samuel Kňažko, Michal Ivan, Martin Gernát, Mario Grman, Peter Čerešňák
Forwards: Tomáš Tatar, Martin Pospíšil, Pavol Regenda, Adam Sýkora, Milos Kelemen, Miloš Roman, Libor Hudácek, Lukáš Cingel, Róbert Lantoši, Marek Hrivík, Matúš Sukeľ, Marián Studenic, Kristián Pospíšil, Adam Liška
Notable Omissions: Juraj Slafkovsky, Erik Cernak, Tomas Jurco, Adam Ruszicka, Christian Jaros, Peter Cehlarik
O’Brien’s post about the Slovak roster highlights that there is not much of an explanation as to why Slafkovsky and Cernak are not on this roster. Per EuroHockey, Montreal and Tampa Bay did not release them. Which is weird. Cernak did not go to the World Championships but Slafkovsky did. And it is not like the NHL is playing anytime soon. As did Peter Cehlarik, whom O’Brien also noted was not on this roster – and is also not happy about it. He did note that not all of the Slovak players immediately agreed with the decision to include KHL-based players on the roster. I wonder if that played a role; perhaps some had to sit to make room. That may explain the other omissions.
Keep An Eye On…: I’ll keep this short section to non-NHL talent. I would hope you are interested in Nemec and Tatar. They are Devils. Anyway, Libor Hudacek led Slovakia in scoring at the World Championships with five goals and five assists. With Slafkovsky not here, there will be increased pressure on him to produce. I would also watch for Samuel Hlavaj. He had a strong WC with a 92.5% save percentage in five games after a successful first season in the Czech Extraliga. He is slated to join Iowa in the AHL next season so you may get to see him in the NHL sooner rather than later.
General Expectation: The Slovaks missed out on automatic qualification by fewer than 100 points. Between being ranked 9th in 2023 and being the only nation in this qualification round to have made it to the quarterfinals in the 2024 World Championships, the expectation is that they takes this group. Especially since they are hosting it. I think they know the pressure is on, which is why Miroslav Satan (yes, he’s the GM of Slovakia’s national team) opted to include the KHL talent. Failing here should cause some significant changes within the Slovak national team.
Kazakhstan
The Roster: Per the national team website, the Kazakh roster has been decided on August 22.
Goalies: Nikita Boyarkin, Maxim Pavlenko, Andrei Shutov
Defensemen: Adil Beketayev, Tamirlan Gaitamirov, Samat Daniyar, Dmitri Breus, Leonid Metalnikov, Eduard Mikhailov, Valeri Orekhov, Ivan Stepanenko
Forwards: Alikhan Asetov, Alexander Borisevich, Dinmukhamed Kaiyrzhan, Maxim Mukhametov, Ruslan Ospanov, Mikhail Rakhmanov, Kirill Savitsky, Roman Starchenko, Ruslan Dyomin, Artyom Likhotnikov, Nikita Mikhailis, Kirill Panyukov , Yevgeni Rymarev, Arkadi Shestakov
Notable Omissions: N/A?
I am not supremely familiar with Kazakhstan’s squad. I do not see anyone notably omitted. Feel free to correct me in the comments. It is unsurprisingly a very heavy KHL / Kazakhstan league roster given the nation’s location and that there is a KHL team in Astana. Of note is Andrei Shutov, who plays for HC Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia.
Keep An Eye On…: Kazakhstan’s roster includes two 20 year old players: winger Ruslan Ospanov and defenseman Dmitri Breus. Breus is one of the KHLers who is not on Astana’s team; he plays for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. Last season, he was mostly with their VHL team. He also represented the nation at the World Championships and in Division I-A of the WJCs. He could be someone on the rise in Kazakh hockey. As for Ospanov, he did a brief stint in the NAHL and NAAAHL in 2022-23 between development in Kazakhstan and playing in Kazakhstan after. He split time with the Astana teams last season and produced five points in five games at the WJCs. Like Breus, Ospanov may become a part of Kazakhstan’s future on the international scene.
General Expectation: Kazakhstan is a tough team to figure out. Most of the players remain domestic and so they do not really go out to other leagues to stand out. The national team has stabilized themselves in the top division of the World Championships but often finish well outside of the medal tournament. Which means they are better than the yo-yo teams but not by a whole lot. They have not made the Olympics since 2006. They would need to upset Slovakia to have a shot at doing so again. I do not think I see it, but I could be proven wrong.
Austria
The Roster: From EuroHockey, head coach Roger Bader named 25 players and 3 goalies to prepare. So there may be some last-minute cuts. Again, NHL players are in bold.
Goalies: Thomas Höneckl, David Kickert, David Madlener
Defensemen: David Reinbacher, Nico Brunner, Dominique Heinrich, David Maier, Thimo Nickl, Paul Stapelfeldt, Steven Strong, Clemens Unterweger, Bernd Wolf, Kilian Zundel
Forwards: Benjamin Baumgartner, Johannes Bischofberger, Maunel Ganahl, Lukas Haudum, Paul Huber, Mario Huber, Marco Kasper, Benjamin Nissner, Thomas Raffl, Winzenz Rohrer, Peter Schneider, Lucas Thaler, Ali Wukovits, Dominic Zwerger
Notable Omissions: Marco Rossi
Per the EuroHockey article, Rossi is apparently committed to training for preseason for Minnesota. A shame because this roster could really use someone like him for Austria to pull off the upset it may need to qualify.
Keep An Eye On…: Dominic Zwerger is one of the few non-Austrian-based players on this roster. The HC Ambri-Piotta winger led the Austrians in scoring at the 2024 WCs. Even if the Austrians had Rossi, much of the offense would have to come from the Swiss/Austrian-based players. Zwerger will be called upon to do it again.
General Expectation: Austria did finish fifth in their group at the 2024 WCs and most of this roster was at that tourney. Unfortunately, that WC run was weird. Sure, they stunned Canada by taking them to OT and beat Finland straight up 3-2. They also lost to Denmark and Great Britain, 5-1 and 4-2, respectively. Even if they had Rossi, I do not know if I can trust their chances based on their WC performance. They did win a tune-up game over Slovenia – 2-1 in OT. Which is also not encouraging since they need to get wins in regulation over similarly ranked teams.
Hungary
The Roster: From Hungarian national team website, their roster was announced on August 15. Again, there may be some last-minute cuts.
Goalies: Bence Bálizs, Dominik Horváth, Ádám Vay
Defensemen: Nándor Fejes, Zsombor Garát, Zétény Hadobás, Alex Horváth, Milán Horváth, Roland Kiss, Henrik Nilsson, Tamás Ortenszky, Bence Szabó
Forwards: Ambrus Gergő, István Bartalis, Csanád Erdély, Vilmos Galló, Bence Horváth, Ákos Mihály, Krisztián Nagy, Márton Nemes, Kristóf Németh, Kristóf Papp, Balázs Sebők, István Sofron, István Terbócs, Balázs Varga, Domán Szongoth
Notable Omissions: János Hári, Bence Stipsicz
Per this August 23 post on their national team website, János Hári and Bence Stipsicz could not play. They have since been replaced
Keep An Eye On…: If Hungary is going to shock the hockey world and win this group, then the team needs Bence Bálizs to play out of his mind. Which is not completely unheard of. He had a strong season with Spata Sarpsborg in Norway with a 91.9% save percentage in 43 games and posted a 95% save percentage in five games in Division I-A of the World Championships. I would also look to see how Kristóf Papp does before taking his final season of college hockey at Lindenwood as well as 18-year old Mora IK forward Márton Nemes. Lastly, if 16-year old forward Domán Szongoth gets into games, then its an achievement for him. And perhaps KooKoo’s (his team’s) management.
General Expectation: Under normal circumstances, Hungary would not be in this round of qualification. They came in second to Japan back in February’s qualification round. However, the decision to exclude Belarus from playing in IIHF games this year gave Hungary a second chance. They are long shots in a group of nations that regularly compete in the top World Championship level. But a long shot is better than no shot. If they can goalie their way to some wins, then look out.
Group E Preview
The Site: The Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia
The Schedule: From the IIHF website, it is here. Games are on August 29, August 30, and September 1. Two games per day. Game times are 9 AM and 1 PM ET for the first two days. September 1’s games are at 6 AM and 10 AM.
The Teams: Latvia (#10), France (#13), Slovenia (#17), Ukraine (#26)
Latvia
The Roster: Latvia’s national team website has a camp roster as of August 16. And it is indeed a full camp. Which means a good number of the following are not going to play by the end of this week. Their second warm-up game is tomorrow so cuts will likely follow after that. NHL players are in bold.
Goalies: Artūrs Šilovs, Gustav Grigals, Kristers Gudļevskis, Ēriks Vītols, Linards Feldbergs
Defensemen: Uvis Balinskis, Jānis Jaks, Kristiāns Rubīns, Kristaps Zīle, Ralfs Freibergs, Arvils Bergmanis, Roberts Mamčics, Markuss Komuls, Oskars Cibulskis, Bogdan Hodass, Ralfs Bergmanis
Forwards: Zemgus Girgensons, Rodrigo Ābols, Oskas Batna, Haralds Egle, Dans Ločmelis, Raivis Ansons, Martins Laviņš, Ģirts Silkalns, Rūdolfs Balcers, Kaspars Daugavinš, Miks Indrašis, Renārs Krastenbergs, Mārtinš Dzierkals, Eduards Tralmaks, Roberts Bukarts, Sandis Vilmanis, Fēlikss Gavars
Notable Omissions: Teddy Blueger, Elvis Merzlikins, Karlis Cukste
Yes, Blueger is Latvian. My understanding is that Blueger had his own reasons not for joining the camp. Merzlikins too but I think he played his way off the roster with his heinous World Championship performance. An 82.6% save percentage in four games is not going to help any national team. Cukste was also on the Latvian WC roster. Perhaps he also played his way off of the blueline?
Keep An Eye On…: Since they have a full camp, I risk naming someone who may not end up making the team. That said, Latvia’s squad is full of players from all over. There are a couple of NHLers and AHLers. There are players who play in Czechia, Slovakia, and Germany. And a couple in college. Center Martins Lavinš finished his freshman year at New Hampshire, got a brief taste of the WC, and has a shot of making the Olympic qualifying squad. Should he progress at UNH, he could be a nice post-college signing down the road. Towards the opposite end of a career, Kaspars Daugavinš is 36 and is still bringing the points from Riga. He led the team in scoring at the 2024 WCs and has been a leader for his nation. Arturs Silovs will get a lot of shine and be main reason for Latvia’s success. Do not be shocked when the veteran ends up on the scoresheet multiple times in their three huge games coming up.
General Expectation: Latvia is hosting, they have a NHL quality goaltender, they have some NHL players, and a national team roster that has stuck it out in the World Championships’ top division since 1997. They are favorites to win this group and I think they will. Do not get upset, though. Hockey is not always a fair game.
France
The Roster: France has also listed a full camp roster on their website. So this is another team that will cut plenty of players ahead of this week’s games. The NHL players will be in bold.
Goalies: Julian Junca, Antoine Keller, Martin Neckar, Quinton Papillon, Sebastian Ylönen
Defensemen: Yohann Auvitu, Enzo Cantagallo, Florian Chakiachvili, Yohan Coulaud, Pierre Crinon, Hugo Gallet, Enzo Guebey, Vincent Llorca, Lucien Onno, Thomas Thiry
Forwards: Justin Addamo, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Charles Bertrand, Louis Boudon, Kevin Bozon, Tim Bozon, Valentin Claireaux, Robin Colombian, Fabien Colotti, Stéphane Da Costa, Aurélien Dair, Floran Douay, Pierrick Dube, Guillaume Leclerc, Jordann Perret, Anthony Rech, Nicolas Ritz, Alexandre Texier, Sacha Treille
Notable Omissions: N/A?
I know he is a free agent but Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is a NHLer to me. And played 40 games for Seattle last season. So there.
Keep An Eye On…: Pierrick Dube may be the next Frenchman to break into the NHL. He recieved a 3 game call-up with Washington last season. More impressively was how he upped his production in his second AHL season with Hershey; going to 28 goals and 48 points from 16 and 32 with Laval in 2022-23. This qualification could also be his chance to cement a spot on the national team too. Among the many France-based players on the roster, goalie Quinton Papillon may have an inside track to making the team. He put up a 92.7% save percentage in 34 games with Bordeaux last season with a 92.8% in 17 playoff games. He appeared in four games for France at the World Championships and put up a 91.6% save percentage despite all four being losses on his record. He was the starter in an exhibition game with Norway just the other day, a 3-2 OT loss. That could be a sign he will at least make the team. Far better than the five goals on 22 shots allowed by Julian Junca and four goals on 19 shots allowed by Antoine Keller in a 9-0 exhibition loss to Norway the day after their previous exhibition. Which is also not a good sign for France as a whole.
Also: If you have a HockeyFrance.tv account, you can watch France’s first two games in this qualification group. The third – Latvia vs. France on September 1 – will cost you though.
General Expectation: France may be a fighting an uphill battle in Riga along with Slovenia and Ukraine. However, they did take on a Norwegian team with NHL talent to overtime in a warmup game. While their 2024 WCs did not go well, they did survive for a third straight season. This may be a team better than the sum of their parts. I still do not think they take the group, but they will not make it simple.
Slovenia
The Roster: From the Slovenian national team website, they put out this roster ahead of the qualification games. There may be some late cuts.
Goalies: Gašper Krošelj, Matija Pintarič, Žan Us
Defensemen: Rožle Bohinc, Aljoša Crnovič, Kristjan Čepon, Jan Ćosić, Blaž Gregorc, Aleksandar Magovac, Bine Mašič, Matic Podlipnik, Miha Štebih, Žiga Pavlin
Forwards: Miha Beričič, Jan Drozg, Luka Gomboc, Žiga Jeglič, Rok Kapel, Anže Kuralt, Rok Macuh, Marcel Mahkovec, Luka Maver, Žiga Mehle, Ken Ograjenšek, Robert Sabolič, Nik Simšič, Rok Ticar, Blaž Tomaževic, Matic Török, Jan Urbas, Miha Verlič
Notable Omissions: Anze Kopitar
That omission is not me being cheeky. He did represent in Olympic qualifiers in the previous Olympic qualification cycles. That the 36-year old is not here (and the 2024 WCs) shows it is an end of an era. Alas.
Keep An Eye On…: Slovenia earned promotion to the World Championship top division for 2025 on the back on veterans like 37-year old goalie Gasper Kroselj (who put up a 96% save percentage!), 33-year old defenseman Aleksander Magovac, 36-year old center Rok Ticar, and 35-year old right winger Robert Sabolic. These players will need to not only repeat their Division I-A performance but elevate to give Slovenia a chance in this group. The roster is still in transition age-wise, but among the younger players, watch for 21-year old forward Matic Torok. He plays for (and developed with) KooKoo in Liiga and has been a part of the next generation of Slovenian ice hockey at the international level.
General Expectation: Even if Slovenia had Kopitar, this group is going to be a tough road for Slovenia. While they earned promotion to the top division out of I-A this year with wins over Italy, Japan, and Romania, they did lose to the relegated South Korea and the promoted Hungary. That tells me that the Ukraine game may not be a gimmie. The other two other nations have been playing above them, which does not bode well. They’re going to need a lot to break their way to hang in this group. They can feel good that they just took Austria to overtime in a recent exhibition. Then again, they were taken to overtime by Marco Kasper in the final minute and lost it in OT.
Ukraine
The Roster: From the Ukrainian national team website, they put out this camp roster on August 16. They did list additional players to be joining so there will be cuts ahead of the actual games. Such as two a few days ago. (Note: I pulled the names from Elite Prospects to hopefully not butcher the English versions of their names.)
Goalies: Bogdan Dyachenko, Oleg Petrov, Eduard Zakharchenko
Defensemen: Filipp Pangelov-Yuldashev, Volodymyr Volkov, Artem Hrebenyk, Yevgenii Ratushnyi, Igor Merezhko, Ivan Sysak, Vitaly Andreykiv, Artur Cholach, Mykyta Polonitskyy
Forwards: Andrei Deniskin, Vitalii Lyalka, Olexei Vorona, Feliks Morozov, Dmitri Nimenko, Denis Borodai, Vadim Mazur, Viktor Zakharov, Vladimir Cherdak, Roman Blagoy, Aleksandr Peresunko, Illia Korenchuk, Daniil Trakht, Stanislav Sadovikov, Yevgen Fadyeyev, Denys Honcharenko
Notable Omissions: Yaroslav Panchenko, Vsevolod Tolstush, Oleksiy Yanishevsky
The omissions comes from the Ukrainian national team website. Their assistant coach stated that Kiev did not release Panchenko. Which is odd since he played for Ukraine’s qualifiers earlier in this year on top of being a top scorer for the Capitals. EP includes him but the Ukrainian national team site says otherwise. As for Tolstush and Yanishevsky, both are injured so they are not part of the Ukrainian blueline.
Keep An Eye On…: Defenseman Artur Cholach is expected to play for the Henderson Silver Knights in the AHL in this coming season. Which is a big jump from playing in the USHL last season for Sioux Falls. Which followed two seasons with Barrie in the OHL. Las Vegas did draft him in 2021 so he has a shot at being the first Ukrainian to make the NHL in a while. We shall see whether the 21-year old defenseman helps keep the blueline steady in these games.
General Expectation: Ukraine earned their way to this final qualification group. They can and should feel real good about it. However, this is a team further back from the group for a reason. They competed (and won) in Division I-B at the World Championships. If Slovenia – a Division I-A team – is going to have an issue with the two nations, then Ukraine is going to have a bigger one on top of Slovenia. Eduard Zakharchenko and/or Bogdan Dychenko need to have a fantastic three games to keep the Ukrainians in it.
Group F Preview
The Site: The Aalborg Arena in Aalborg, Denmark
The Schedule: From the IIHF website, it is here. Games are on August 29, August 30, and September 1. Two games per day. Game times are 9:30 AM and 1:30 PM ET for the first two days. September 1’s games are at 6:30 AM and 10:30 AM.
The Teams: Denmark (#11), Norway (#12), Great Britain (#19), Japan (#24)
Denmark
The Roster: From Henrik Lundqvist (no, not that one) of EuroHockey, Denmark announced their camp roster on August 13. There are some NHL players on this list and they are in bold.
Goalies: Frederik Andersen, Mads Søgaard, Frederik Dichow
Defensemen: Jesper Jensen, Kasper Larsen, Anders Koch, Markus Lauridsen, Matias Lassen, Nicholas Jensen, Oliver Larsen, Olivier Lauridsen, Phillip Bruggisser
Forwards: Nikolaj Ehlers, Lars Eller, Jonas Røndbjerg, Alexander True, Christian Wejse, Frederik Storm, Joachim Blichfeld, Mathias From, Mikkel Aagaard, Morten Poulsen, Nicklas Jensen, Oliver Kjær, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, Patrick Russell, Phillip Schultz
Notable Omissions: Oliver Bjorkstrand
Oliver Bjorkstrand was originally on the roster. He has been removed from the roster due to an injury per the Danish Ice Hockey Federation on Facebook. It is unfortunate but it is for the best for both the player and Seattle.
Keep An Eye On…: Forward Oscar Fisker Mølgaard was a second round draft pick of Seattle in 2023 and he is likely to be the next Danish NHL player in time. He is 19, signed with HV 71 in the SHL for another two seasons, and completed a full season with the main HV 71 squad last season. He was the only NHL-affiliated player on their WC roster. A roster made much stronger with Ehlers, Andersen, and others. For non-NHL players, look to 33-year old defenseman Phillip Bruggisser. He has been a productive defenseman in Germany since 2018 and is coming off a 37 point season in 51 games with Fischtown of the DEL. Do not be surprised to see him take an offensive role from the back end. Feeding Ehlers and Bjorkstrand on a power play may get him on the scoresheet quite a bit.
General Expectation: Denmark should win this group in the same way Slovakia should win this group. They have NHL talent. They even have the privilege of a NHL-quality starting goaltender. They are at home. That said, that third game against Norway on September 1 could be nervy even if Denmark stomps Great Britain and Japan.
Norway
The Roster: For whatever reason, the Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation did not make a formal announcement. Fortunately, we can look at their warm-up exhibition games against France for an idea about the roster. Thanks to Eurohockey for having a summary that includes a roster for their 3-2 OT win as well as a 9-0 win.
Goalies: Henrik Haukeland, Jonas Amtzen
Defensemen: Emil Martinsen Lilleberg, Sander Vold Engebråten, Christian Kåsastul, Johannes Johannesen, Isak Hansen, Mattias Nørstebø
Forwards: Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Max Krogdahl, Andreas Martinsen, Eskild Bakke Olsen, Mathias Emilio Pettersen, Martin Rønnild, Eirik Salsten, Håvard Salsten, Noah Steen, Patrick Thoresen, Mattian Trettenes, Petter Vesterheim, Mats Zuccarello Aasen, Markus Vikingstad, Thomas Olsen
Notable Omissions?: Stian Solberg, Tobias Normann
The notable omissions are players who were on the Norwegian roster for the 2024 World Championships but did not play in the France game. For all I know, they are on the camp roster and could very well make the Norwegian team. Normann was a third-choice goalie; I think Norway will lean on Haukeland-Amtzen as a tandem. I would be surprised if Solberg does not make it after playing as much as he did in his draft year.
Keep An Eye On…: Old man Patrick Thoresen! The captain of Storhamar for the last six seasons, 40 years young, and continuing to lead Norway up front. Along with Zuccarello, he led the Norwegians in scoring at the 2024 WCs. He is still very much active as he will join Djurgårdens IF in the Allsvenskan next season. Speaking of Swedish hockey, 19-year old center Petter Vesterheim will join Malmö in the SHL next season. He is coming off a season where he got 40 games of the Allsvenskan with Mora IK on top of finishing tied with MBN at the WJCs Division I-A in scoring. Should he do well here and in the SHL, I could see him as an overage draft option for 2025.
General Expectation: Norway’s hockey profile will likely get a boost from Brandsegg-Nygård, Solberg, and Steen should they make it to the NHL and do well. It will continue if or when more Norwegian players break into and stick in Swedish and Finnish leagues – something already happening. This is all to say that their future is bright. But it may take quite a bit to beat Denmark and take this group in 2024. If Haukeland gets going though, then it may be possible.
Great Britain
The Roster: From their national team website, Team GB announced their camp roster. Expect four cuts at a minimum since they named 27 players.
Goalies: Ben Bowns, Lucas Brine, Jackson Whistle
Defensemen: Josh Batch, David Clements, Nathanael Halbert, Sam Jones, Evan Mosey, Ben O’Connor, David Phillips, Mark Richardson, Sam Ruopp, Josh Tetlow
Forwards: Ollie Betteridge, Cam Critchlow, Johnny Curran, Ben Davies, Robert Dowd, Sam Duggan, Liam Kirk, Robert Lachowicz, Ben Lake, Cade Neilson, Sean Norris, Brett Perlini, Cole Shudra, Josh Waller
Notable Omissions: Maybe Lewis Hook?
Lewis Hook was the highest scoring English player in the Elite Ice Hockey League, which is Great Britain’s top hockey league. Then again, Hook has not performed well with Team GB in previous appearances and his 46 points in 56 games for Guildford was good enough for 19th in the league in scoring. I don’t think Team GB needs Hook that much. I’m stretching the idea of a “notable” omission.
Keep An Eye On…: You can always look to see how Liam Kirk is doing. He’s going to the DEL next season after a productive stay at HC Litvinov of Czechia last season. The 24-year old forward may not make it here, but he will still be a top scorer for this squad. You can also look to see how Lafayette, Louisiana born forward Cade Neilson performs. After two seasons with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, he will join Glasgow in the EIHL next season. This is notable as these two are among the three under-25 skaters on the roster. (Aside: Team GB, keep/continuing investing in development of the youth.)
You can also keep an eye on the games. According to the Team GB site, they plan to have a live stream or link to one for their games. So you can watch the squad.
General Expectation: Team GB was relegated from the top division in the World Championships in 2024. They did beat Austria on the last day but it was not enough to survive. They may become a yo-yo team between I-A and the top division. This is to say that having to take on Denmark and Norway is going to be difficult. Especially since Denmark and Norway both beat Great Britain in the 2024 World Championships and the camp roster looks a lot like the WC roster. Unless Jackson Whistle plans to put on a show, it would take a lot for Team GB to make it.
Japan
The Roster: On August 1, the Japan Ice Hockey Association site put up a PDF of their camp roster. With 24 players on it, they only need to cut one player.
Goalies: Yuta Narisawa, Yutaka Fukufuki, Eiki Sato
Defensemen: Kotaro Yamada, Jiei Halliday, Hiroto Sato, Seiya Hayata, Riku Ishida, Kazuki Lawlor, Koki Yoneyama, Yusei Otsu
Forwards: Shogo Nakajima, Kenta Takagi, Taiga Irikura, Teruto Nakajima, Kosuke Otsu, Makuru Furuhashi, Kento Suzuki, Sota Isogai, Yuto Osawa, Yushiroh Hirano, Yuki Miura, Yu Sato, Chikara Hanzawa
Notable Omissions: N/A
Is it really an omission to keep 5’3” winger Aito Iguchi out seeing that he is still playing college hockey at Meiji University? If he goes pro, then sure, add him in later.
Keep An Eye On…: Yushiroh Hirano was with Utica for four games and was a productive machine for Adirondack of the ECHL. Their playoff run was why Hirano did not appear for Japan in Division I-A of the World Championships. He should add to the offense. Also, if you need to follow him next season, then get familiar with Austria – he’s joining HC Innsbruck. Also look at 22-year old winger Yu Sato. He played a bit in the KHL and mostly in the VHL with Dizel Penza. His next team is up in the air, but this was the highest level of any Japanese player on the roster in 2023-24 outside of Hirano in the ECHL. Sato put up three goals to finish second on the team in scoring in Division I-A play and will be part of the future (present?) of Japanese hockey.
General Expectation: Like Ukraine, Japan did qualify to play in this round and that is a point of pride. Also like Ukraine, they could be out-matched. Japan earned promotion to Division I-A for this year and just avoided relegation thanks to dragging Italy to overtime and beating South Korea. They lost to Romania, Hungary, and Slovenia. Their competition are two WC top division and a team that just got relegated from the top division. They will need a lot to hang here. The national team’s next step should stabilizing themselves in Division I-A. At least this experience may help them with that.
The Predictions
Group D: Slovakia has some scary moments but they win the group. Almost as importantly, Simon Nemec and Tomas Tatar are OK and do not get hurt prior to training camp in Newark.
Group E: It should be Latvia. Like Slovakia, there should be some hard conversations in the federation if they do not win it.
Group F: It will come down to Denmark-Norway. This game could be the one to watch among the games between August 29 and September 1.
Your Take
It is still confusing to me that the most important international ice hockey games for the Winter Olympics are taking place this Summer. You would think it would be next Summer instead. Alas, it is the IIHF’s show and not mine. Provided the streams on Youtube from the IIHF work well, we should be able to watch plenty of meaningful hockey ahead of the New Jersey Devils beginning their training camp, pre-preseason, and preseason activities. Watching such games is a good way as any to get ready for the NHL season. It will determine which of these 12 nations goes to Milan in 2026 by Labor Day.
Who are you interested in seeing play among the 12 nations? Who do you think wins each group? Will you be watching? If there is enough interest, I could set up a Gamethread for the qualifiers. Please leave your answers and other thoughts and updates about any or all 12 of these national teams in the comments. Thank you for reading.