The 2026 Olympic Games in Milan are only weeks away, and a recent injury has rocked Team Canada. Despite a superb report from Jon Cooper on Tuesday, Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point may miss the tournament. If he cannot make it, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Sam Bennett and Connor Bedard might be among the many forwards considered.
“We’ve worked a (reserve) list that we expect checks a variety of different boxes,” Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong told LeBrun. “So if this player gets hurt, and he performs a certain role, what substitute do we wish? We’ll need to ensure that we keep as many options available in order that we take the player that’s playing one of the best in the world we’d like him.”
LeBrun fleshed out the list, “Sam Bennett, Connor Bedard, Wyatt Johnston, Mark Scheifele, Seth Jarvis and Travis Konecny are amongst those on the reserve list, in keeping with league sources.”
Pairing up Armstrong’s comments with LeBrun’s list easily eliminates Konecny and Jarvis. They play wing for his or her NHL teams, and Canada will need to take one other center to switch Point in the event that they can.
Bennett was a fantastic player for Canada through the 4 Nations Face-Off and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after that. Bedard has all of the upside on the planet, as he was on a 100-point pace before a shoulder injury derailed his season. Each Canada and Team USA were built with a defensive game in mind, which could swing the momentum to Bennett.
But Canada is hoping Point can play on the opening game in slightly below a month. They’ve won each of the last two Olympics with NHL players while also winning the World Cup and 4 Nations in between. Point’s playoff excellence should help him significantly within the Olympics, if he can get healthy in time.