The 2026 Winter Olympics are right around the corner in Milan-Cortina this February. While we will hear more about the ice surface and conditions in the coming weeks, the NHL continues to announce rosters for the upcoming games.
Several New Jersey Devils players will be at the upcoming games, including captain Nico Hischier for Switzerland and, just named to Team USA, Jack Hughes. Hughes represented Team USA at the Four Nations last season but had a weak tournament. He is coming back from hand surgery and is still getting acclimated to playing and gripping the stick.
Jack Hughes Makes Team USA Four Nations Faceoff Roster
Jack Hughes is one of the more skilled players Team USA is bringing to the Olympics. Despite his size and style of play, which don’t fit the Bill Guerin model, his foot speed and puckhandling will force teams to back off. Let’s see how effective he will be in such a short tournament setting.
In addition to Hischier and Hughes, the Devils will have six other players representing their countries at the Olympics.
Those players, including Jacob Markstrom and Jesper Bratt, are for Team Sweden. Markstrom was injured just before the Four Nations last season, so he missed representing his country, which he was looking forward to. Markstrom had to be replaced, leaving Bratt as the only Devils representative to play for Sweden at the Four Nations.
Now these Devils teammates will have a chance to bring home a gold medal for Sweden at the Olympics. Both players are looking forward to being on this grand stage.
Jesper Bratt Ranks 12th on NHL Network’s Top 20 Wingers List
But they are not the only teammates going to the Olympics; a contingent of Swiss-born players is heading to Italy, joining captain Nico Hischier—teammates from past World Championships, including Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler.
Devils captain Nico Hischier said he is 100 percent excited to play for Switzerland in the Olympics.
Credit ESPN’s @Arda for the question #njdevils @FullPressNHL @myNHLTradeRumor @DevilsNationX pic.twitter.com/RVYKKshGI5
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) December 10, 2024
As Hischier told ESPN’s Arda Ocal before a December 2024 Devils-Toronto Maple Leafs game, he was excited to represent Switzerland at the Olympics.
“Oh, 100 percent,” Hischier said. “That’s something I have never done. The thing is as an athlete in general, it’s always a dream. So definitely looking forward to that.”
The New Jersey Devils Still Need Another Goal Scorer
The New Jersey Devils will see defenseman Simon Nemec represent Slovakia, while Ondrej Palat will represent Czechia at the upcoming Winter Olympics.
The men’s portion of the Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament will take place from February 11th through the 22nd.
