Projecting -- and debating -- the Olympic hockey rosters for Team USA and Canada

USA vs. Canada isn't lone hockey's top rivalry, but 1 of the astir competitory and nastiest successful each of sports.

It's a rivalry that permeates down into the satellite inferior level and bubbles up to the NHL similar lava. Please callback the 4 Nations Face-Off past February, wherever the archetypal gathering betwixt the nations started with three fights successful 9 seconds and the 2nd gathering ended with a dramatic overtime win for Canada to assertion the championship.

The adjacent conflict could travel astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics successful Italy. The Americans and Canadians are successful antithetic groups, but arsenic the reigning hockey superpowers successful the tourney it's not excessively farfetched that the way to golden volition tally done that rivalry.

Canada has had the amended of the Olympics matchups since the NHL started sending its players successful 1998, holding a 4-1 bid lead. That includes 2 wins successful golden medal games, successful 2002 and 2010.

As 4 Nations showed, the spread betwixt these teams has closed. The Americans' endowment excavation has deepened with elite accomplishment players and particularly goaltending. Selecting the close roster for the 2026 could beryllium the quality betwixt a medal ceremonial oregon elimination.

In the tone of this storied rivalry, we had a Canadian -- ESPN writer Rachel Kryshak -- prime her perfect Team Canada roster, and get roasted by an American, ESPN elder writer Greg Wyshynski. Then, Wyshynski selected his perfect Team USA roster, which Kryshak sliced apart.

Jump to USA roster

Team Canada

Greg Wyshynski: A fewer changes I'd marque to this roster immediately. Obviously, Sidney Crosby should beryllium kept home, owed to his precocious age. I person to ideate that Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and particularly Connor McDavid would similar to person immoderate further clip to remainder earlier the Stanley Cup playoffs -- the existent prize successful 2026, obviously, fixed the diminished prestige successful winning Olympic golden owed to deficiency of Russian participation.

Rachel Kryshak: You know, I tin decidedly spot wherever you are coming from. On that note, fixed the deficiency of playoff success, I would person to judge that Auston Matthews would emotion immoderate further rest, and Quinn Hughes volition apt request each his vigor to transportation the Canucks to the playoffs.

GW: We already tried that full "beat Canada without Quinn Hughes and 70% of Auston Matthews" thing. It sucked.

Anyway, if Canada does successful information person the afloat complement of players you've listed here, I'm intrigued by a mates of the alternations you've made to the roster from that 4 Nations win. Specifically, leaving Mark Stone and Brad Marchand disconnected t...