Olympics selections and snubs for Carolina Hurricanes players
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The Carolina Hurricanes celebrate a win last month at the Lenovo Center. Photo: Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images
Several Carolina Hurricanes players will be taking trips to Europe next month to compete in the Winter Olympics.
Why it matters: NHL players have been unable to participate in Olympic hockey for more than a decade, meaning few active players have had the opportunity to compete on behalf of their nations, an emotional experience that many athletes cite as the pinnacle of their careers.
State of play: The NHL stopped taking breaks for the winter Olympics after 2014 because they interfere with regular-season scheduling and players could get injured before the Stanley Cup playoffs, ESPN reports.
Yes, but: Players pushed back during collective bargaining, and there are now 12 nations competing in 2026 at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
Zoom in: Countries are now unveiling their final men's hockey rosters.
- Team USA is taking defenseman Jaccob Slavin, a defenseman in his eleventh season with the Canes who began his professional career with the Charlotte Checkers.
- Finland selected forward Sebastian Aho, the Canes' points leader for two years and counting.
- Denmark has two Canes players — goalie Frederik Andersen and forward Nikolaj Ehlers.
The intrigue: The only active Canes player who is an Olympian — defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who won a silver medal in Beijing in 2022, when he was just 20 — won't be playing again in 2026.
- That's because he is Russian, and the International Olympic Committee banned Russia for invading Ukraine.
The snubs
Seth Jarvis did not make the Team Canada roster. The 23-year-old star got off to a hot start for the Canes, but has been sidelined since Dec. 19 with a rib injury.
- ESPN called it a "justified snub" that was nonetheless a bummer for "the tenacious Carolina Hurricanes winger."
State of play: The Athletic wrote that Canada simply has "an embarrassment of riches at forward," the position Jarvis plays.
- He was one of three forwards who won a gold medal for Team Canada in the 2025 Four Nations Face-Off tournament, but weren't picked this year.
What they're saying: "It sucks," Jarvis said, according to NHL.com, adding that he gave himself "a couple of days to take it in, feel emotions," before moving on.
And Jesperi Kotkaniemi was left off Finland's roster, which Sports Illustrated called a "surprise omission."
- The center, in his fourth season in Carolina, is rumored to be on the trade block.
What's next: Canada and the United States are widely considered Olympic favorites.
- The opening ceremony is set for Friday, Feb. 6, and men's hockey games begin the following week.