International best-on-best hockey will return at the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face Off.

But that's just the appetizer for the main course in 2026.

For the first time since the 2014 Winter Olympics, the NHL will send its players to Milan, Italy, to vie for the gold.

And while the 4 Nations Face Off will only include the USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland, the Olympics will have a wider range of countries represented, including Czechia, the recent winners of the IIHF World Championships.

And with the Opening Ceremonies for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris happening on Friday, the B/R NHL staff consisting of Adam Gretz and Joe Yerdon decided to come together to project the rosters for the top six teams that could be playing in Italy.

We are including Russia in this exercise, but Russian athletes are currently banned from competing for their country and can only participate under a neutral banner. The IIHF has also banned Russia from international competition for the 2024-25 calendar year and there are no guarantees Russian athletes will be able to participate in 2026 due to the war in Ukraine.

Do you have any disagreements with our choices? Submit them now in the comments section of the B/R app!

Team USA

Forwards

Matthew Tkachuk-Auston Matthews-Kyle Connor

Jason Robertson-Jack Eichel-Jack Hughes

Jake Guentzel-Tage Thompson-Clayton Keller

Brady Tkachuk-JT Miller-Johnny Gaudreau

Analysis: Picking the United States forward group is difficult at the moment. And it won't be any easier when we get to the Olympics.

The thinking here for the top line was to have a healthy mix of hard-nosed scoring with Tkachuk, elite all-around scoring and defending with Matthews, and a winger who can fill up the net from anywhere on the ice in Connor. It's like a classic EA NHL Hockey chemistry trio.

The U.S. has a load of guys who prefer to be at center, but some will have to play on the wing in the flow of play. If you don't like Eichel up the middle, fine, we'll have him swap places with Jack Hughes. The only toss-up here is who plays the left wing. Robertson was the pick because he's strong on both sides of the puck and scores at an elite level.

Guentzel on the third line shows how deep this group is and teaming him up with Thompson and Keller means he'll score many goals around the net with his linemates creating chances all over the rest of the ice and getting pucks on the net.

A fourth line here is only a fourth line in name, although this trio with Brady Tkachuk and JT Miller can be mean and nasty and physical, too. We're going with Gaudreau here because we need a place for him in the lineup and he could do a lot of damage with the other two creating havoc.

If the forward you think was snubbed isn't here and what the heck are we doing here, just consider them an extra and they can jump in where you like them the most. Problem solved.

Defense

Quinn Hughes-Charlie McAvoy

Zach Werenski-Adam Fox

Jaccob Slavin-John Carlson

Analysis: The American defensive group is almost totally set right now. Whether you want Quinn Hughes with McAvoy or Fox is up to you, but one of those two will likely be his partner. McAvoy was the pick here because his skill set is just different enough from Hughes to make it make more sense. Having Hughes with Fox seems a little like overkill, but overkill can be fun, too.

Werenski with Fox creates the same counterpart work as Hughes and McAvoy. Werenski is an underrated guy thanks to playing in Columbus but he's a strong player all over the ice and is a good passer. Pairing him with a Norris winner is nice.

Slavin and Carlson get the call on the third pair because Slavin's attention to detail defensively is so good and Carlson's history in American hockey and his capability of moving the puck and getting shots to the net are still very good.

Choices were not easy here as Luke Hughes, Matt Roy, K'Andre Miller, Brett Pesce, Jacob Trouba, Brandon Carlo, Seth Jones, Noah Hanifin and Cam Fowler are all up for consideration too. It's nice to have a wealth of choices.

Goaltenders

Connor Hellebuyck

Jeremy Swayman

Thatcher Demko

Analysis: The only downside here is someone really good will miss out on the Olympics. Right now, that guy is Jake Oettinger, but give it another year and it could be any of the three we've chosen.

Hellebuyck is the No. 1 guy though. He's proven for years how good he is while playing for Winnipeg who didn't exactly lend him the best defensive support for many years. Still, with Swayman and Demko there as well, if Hellebuyck goes cold, a change can be made with relative comfort knowing another elite goalie is waiting in line.

—Joe Yerdon

Team Canada

Forwards

Zach Hyman - Connor McDavid — Mitch Marner

Brad Marchand - Nathan MacKinnon - Sidney Crosby

Sam Reinhart - Connor Bedard - Wyatt Johnston

Carter Verhaeghe - Brayden Point - Steven Stamkos

Analysis: This would be one of the deepest position groups in the Olympics, and you could probably put together a B-team of players that wouldn't make the roster.

The real strength here is down the middle where they could go with McDavid, MacKinnon, Connor Bedard and Brayden Point. Reinhart, Crosby and Stamkos could also serve as center options, but in this case, we're putting them on the wing.

We decided to stick Crosby on the wing because he will be into his late 30s, and it would be fun to see him team up with long-time friends MacKinnon and Marchand on a line. That line would also be borderline unstoppable and probably never give up the puck.

Bedard should be starting to hit the prime of his career in 2026 and reaching his potential offensively, so he would be ready to center a line.

Keeping the McDavid-Hyman connection together on the top line also seems like a smart idea given how successful that duo has been.

Defense

Cale Makar- Dougie Hamilton

Morgan Rielly - Evan Bouchard

Noah Dobson - Devon Toews

Analysis: Like the forward group, this is a deep unit full of potential top-pairing players.

We considered keeping Makar and Toews together, but it is hard to put Hamilton, Reilly, or Bouchard deeper down the depth chart given their ability to drive offense and produce offense.

Goaltenders

Stuart Skinner

Tristan Jarry

Adin Hill

Analysis: This is the potential Achilles' heel and it could be a big problem. If there is one position that can sink an otherwise great team, poor goaltending is it.

The thing about this position is that Canada doesn't need anybody here to steal games or be a game-changer.

It just needs somebody to not lose games.

Skinner and Jarry have the potential to be that sort of goalie, but they can be very inconsistent and you never really know which version of them you are going to get on a given night.

Hill backstopped Vegas to a Stanley Cup so he has some big-game and championship experience, which might give him a bit of an edge in this spot.

—Adam Gretz

Team Sweden

Forwards

Filip Forsberg-Elias Pettersson-William Nylander

Lucas Raymond-Mika Zibanejad-Adrian Kempe

Jesper Bratt-Elias Lindholm-William Karlsson

William Eklund-Joel Eriksson Ek-Pierre Engvall

Analysis: It's incredible the wealth of options Sweden has at forward. What's more amazing yet is that when the Olympics come around, a lot of their forward group could change in a big way.

Filip Forsberg with Elias Pettersson and William Nylander is as good of a trio as you'll find anywhere. Forsberg scores a ton and is as clutch as it gets. Pettersson is an all-around superstar and Nylander just gets stuff done in big moments.

Lucas Raymond is still young, but as we saw this past season in Detroit, he's about to blow up in a big way. With Zibanejad with him to set up plays and drive the offense forward, it'll create a wicked second line with Kempe on the other side.

How the third and fourth lines get arranged is basically in the eye of the beholder and this is where things could get different in a couple of years. We've got Elias Lindholm in place on the third line and Eriksson Ek on the fourth, but you could flip-flop those two or even sub in Leo Carlsson down the road or slide William Karlsson over at center and toss things around.

Bratt is outstanding and he and Karlsson on a line together could thrive. Eriksson Ek and Engvall give them some physical play and very good defensive smarts. Eklund gets the nod here for now, but that's a spot up for grabs with an older guy like Gustav Nyquist, a specialist like Victor Olofsson or Carlsson taking over. There are plenty of other choices beyond that as well.

Defense

Victor Hedman-Erik Karlsson

Rasmus Dahlin-Gustav Forsling

Hampus Lindholm-Mattias Ekholm

Analysis: The depth Sweden has on the blue line is well beyond impressive. Consider that we don't have Jonas Brodin or Rasmus Andersson in our top six right now and it's completely bonkers.

Hedman and Karlsson are the top pairing right now and depending on how Father Time treats them both, that could change. But it's hard to argue against either of them because they're both still very strong performers and Karlsson can run the power play with ease while Hedman dominates all over the ice.

Running out a second pairing of Dahlin with Forsling means opposing teams won't get any sort of relief or weakness to attack when they come out. Forsling has shown the past two seasons how outstanding he is shutting down opponents and rushing the puck as well. Dahlin is a puck-carrying monster and can score and set up teammates with ease and with his defensive improvements, he could be a nightmare to deal with in the Olympics.

Lindholm and Ekholm together will give everyone fits. Lindholm is a puck possession king while Ekholm lowers the boom physically and even showed some offensive touch with the Oilers last season.

Goaltenders

Linus Ullmark

Filip Gustavsson

Jacob Markström

Analysis: The names among goaltenders here make the position look stacked. Ullmark won the Vezina two seasons ago, Gustavsson was incredible in his rookie season with the Wild that same year and Markström has shown in the past he can be among the best goalies in the league.

The only issue that could come up here is consistency, but with how steady Ullmark has been the past few years, it's hard to deny him. This position was always so much easier to assess when it was Henrik Lundqvist and two other guys, but the Swedes have depth here now, and in two years we could have to consider guys like Samuel Ersson (PHI), Jesper Wallstedt (MIN) and Erik Portillo (LAK) if they develop in a big way.

—Joe Yerdon

Team Finland

Forwards

Patrik Laine - Aleksander Barkov - Mikko Rantanen

Artturi Lehkonen - Sebastian Aho - Teuvo Teravainen

Matias Maccelli - Roope Hintz - Eeli Tolvanen

Eetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Kaapo Kakko

Analysis: The obvious strength here is looking right down the middle of the lineup where they could potentially go four deep.

Barkov is one of the best all-around players in hockey and can dominate at both ends of the rink, while Aho and Hintz can bring top-line scoring. Even Lundell would be an incredible fourth-line option with advanced two-way play for his age and the potential for even more offense to develop in the coming seasons.

The wings are where things get a little top-heavy.

Rantanen is a bonafide superstar offensively, and Laine has the potential and ability to be an elite goal-scorer when he is healthy.

Depth becomes a problem once you get past the top three wingers. There are no true weaknesses here as all 12 forwards can play at a reasonably high NHL level, but there are not a lot of difference makers on the outside.

Defense

Miro Heiskanen - Esa Lindell

Urho Vaakanainen - Henri Jokiharju

Olli Maatta - Juuso Välimäki

Analysis: Speaking of top-heavy positions, that is going to be the case here on defense for Finland.

Heiskanen is a Norris-level defender in the NHL and can play an effective shutdown game while also contributing big numbers offensively.

There is just a very significant drop-off after him on defense.

Heiskanen might have to play 25-30 minutes a game against other top-tier teams.

Goalies

Juuse Saros

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Ville Husso

Analysis: While the wing and defense depth might be a little thin, Finland has the type of goaltending that could potentially make a difference.

When Saros is on top of his game and playing at his best he can be a game-stealer and game-changer. He can take an average or slightly above-average team and drag it further than it might otherwise be expected to go.

Luukkonen just had a breakout year for the Sabres and would be an excellent No. 2 here and could step in and start if needed and still give Finland a chance.

—Adam Gretz

Team Czechia

Forwards

Ondřej Palát- Tomáš Hertl - David Pastrňák

Dominik Kubalik- Martin Nečas - Filip Zadina

Jakub Vrána - Pavel Zacha - Filip Chytil

Tomáš Nosek - Radek Faksa - David Kampf

Analysis: The good news for Czechia is that it would have one of the best offensive players and goal-scorers in the NHL in David Pastrňák leading its top line, with a couple of really strong top-line centers in Hertl and Nečas to help round out the top-six.

The bad news is about the extent of its proven playmakers as everybody else is more of a wild card and a lottery ticket than anything else.

Zadina, Vrana and Chytil all have skill and potential, but it has not always come together for them against the best competition. Zacha is a solid third-line center for an NHL team, but in a best-on-best competition, the depth would be tested against teams like Canada and the United States that are significantly deeper at the position.

Defense

Filip Hronek - David Jiricek

Jan Rutta - Radko Gudas

Jakub Zboril - Radim Šimek

Analysis: While Czechia has some definite potential to score with its top couple of lines, preventing goals is going to be an issue.

Hronek and Jiricek could be a formidable top-pairing, but there isn't a shutdown option on this potential roster. Hronek can provide some big-time offense when paired up with the right partner, but is he a player you want playing 25 minutes a night against McDavid or Matthews? He might have to be.

Goaltenders

Karel Vejmelka

Petr Mrázek

David Rittich

Analysis: Making matters worse is that along with having a relatively thin defense without a clear-cut No. 1, Czechia is also extremely thin in goal.

Mrazek is the most experienced goalie who is an option, and he is capable of getting hot and playing at a reasonably high level, but Vejmelka is probably the best combination of current ability and upside. The problem is he just isn't a game-changer. Combined with the questions on defense this could lead to some serious goal-prevention problems and put even more pressure on the likes of Pastrňák, Hertl and Nečas to carry the team.

—Adam Gretz

Team Russia

Forwards

Alex Ovechkin-Evgeni Malkin-Nikita Kucherov

Pavel Buchnevich-Kirill Kaprizov-Andrei Svechnikov

Andrei Kuzmenko-Ivan Barbashev-Kirill Marchenko

Nikita Gusev-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Vladimir Tarasenko

Analysis: Ovechkin teaming up with his old friend Malkin with Kucherov on the right side is the kind of line you want to have in a video game. Sure, Ovechkin will be 40 years old and Malkin will be 39 when the 2026 Olympics start in Italy, but whatever they've got they're going to leave it out there.

Following them up with a trio of Buchnevich, Kaprizov and Svechnikov makes all the sense in the world and for all intents and purposes, that would be their top line given their ages and abilities.

Going deeper into the lines, things get a little bit dicey. Kuzmenko is a very good offensive player, as is Marchenko. Having Barbashev drive the net and play physically between them makes for a great mix between them.

The fourth line is where we're putting in KHL star Nikita Gusev. You might remember him from his brief time with the New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers a few years ago. With Kuznetsov back in Russia now, it feels almost certain he'll be on the Olympic team when he finds his game back home. With Tarasenko on the wing, that makes for a depth line that could cause headaches for other depth lines.

We left Artemi Panarin off this roster and did so because of his outspokenness against Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past. Even though Panarin played in a KHL-NHL charity game this summer in Russia, which could signal things being a little different, we're keeping him out of the mix. If he did play, however, you could slot him in next to Kaprizov.

Defense

Mikhail Sergachev-Ivan Provorov

Pavel Mintyukov-Vladislav Gavrikov

Alexander Nikishin-Dmitry Orlov

Analysis: If there's been a weakness in past international competitions with Russia, it's their defense. They don't have the high-quality depth many of the other countries do and it sticks out in a big way when they're up against Canada, Sweden, or the United States.

That said, they've got some very good young players in the NHL now or on the way soon. Sergachev is automatically their No. 1 defenseman and given that all six defensemen we picked for this group are left-handed, it makes setting pairs a bit of an issue. Provorov with Sergachev makes a bit of sense given they play in somewhat complementary ways.

Mintyukov is young but he showed in his first season with the Ducks how dynamic he can be moving the puck, making passes and creating scoring opportunities. Teaming him up with a defensive-minded guy like Gavrikov works well.

If you don't know Alexander Nikishin yet, you will someday. The Carolina Hurricanes prospect is 6'4" and 215 pounds and has both generated a lot of offense and been a physically tough player for SKA St. Petersburg. Pairing him with a winning veteran like Orlov (who just happens to be with Carolina right now) feels like we're trying to manifest that happening for the 'Canes.

Goaltenders

Igor Shesterkin

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Ilya Sorokin

Analysis: We've marveled at how deep the goaltending is for the United States, but my goodness does Russia have it locked down in net.

Shesterkin and Vasilevskiy have both won the Vezina Trophy and Vasilevskiy has won multiple Stanley Cups. Their work speaks for itself and as much as we'd like to think Shesterkin would be the No. 1 guy, but he always defers to Vasilevskiy as being the best Russian goalie. It's a nice problem to have.

We're going with Sorokin as the No. 3 because sheesh it's nice to have luxury. Sorokin has been brilliant with the Islanders although this past season got a little weird when fellow Russian Semyon Varlamov got starts over him in the playoffs.

Yeah, Sergei Bobrovsky could be on here as well and there's no reason to think that in two years' time he's going to slow down all that much, even though he'll be 37 when the Olympics begin. But having so many great choices to make, and this isn't even counting anyone that's still playing in the KHL, hard decisions have to be made.

—Joe Yerdon