Team Canada and the United States held their second practice sessions in Italy on Monday. Both squads are preparing for Thursday’s opening games that mark the return of NHL players to Olympic competition.
Olympic regulations allow teams to dress 13 forwards and seven defensemen for each game.
The lineups from Monday’s practice sessions aren’t finalized for the tournament openers. Here’s how both gold-medal contenders structured their lines during practice.
Canada
Forwards
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Macklin Celebrini | Connor McDavid | Tom Wilson |
| Nick Suzuki | Nathan MacKinnon | Brad Marchand |
| Mark Stone | Sidney Crosby | Mitch Marner |
| Brandon Hagel | Bo Horvat | Sam Reinhart |
Seth Jarvis and Sam Bennett skated as extras. Both players joined the roster as injury replacements.
The top line combination drew significant attention. Celebrini is the youngest player in the tournament. Wilson has taken on a larger role than many anticipated.
“Right to the penthouse with two amazing players,”
Wilson said Sunday, according to Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas.
Defense
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Devon Toews | Cale Makar |
| Josh Morrissey | Colton Parayko |
| Thomas Harley | Drew Doughty |
Shea Theodore and Travis Sanheim were the extra defensemen. Theodore suffered an early injury at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off and didn’t return. Sanheim averaged more than 17 minutes across three games at that tournament.
Jordan Binnington took the starter’s net during practice. Head coach Jon Cooper hasn’t announced his goaltender for Thursday’s opener against Czechia.
Binnington has the weakest regular-season statistics among Canada’s three goalies. He played a crucial role in securing the 4 Nations championship.
United States
Forwards
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Jake Guentzel | Auston Matthews | Matt Boldy |
| Brady Tkachuk | Jack Eichel | Matthew Tkachuk |
| Kyle Connor | Dylan Larkin | Tage Thompson |
| J.T. Miller | Brock Nelson | Jack Hughes |
Clayton Keller and Vincent Trocheck skated as extras. Trocheck rotated into the fourth-line center position during practice.
Defense
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Quinn Hughes | Charlie McAvoy |
| Jaccob Slavin | Brock Faber |
| Jake Sanderson | Zach Werenski |
Jackson LaCombe and Noah Hanifin formed the extra defensive pairing. McAvoy has been a full participant in practice despite taking a controversial hit to the head during his final game before traveling to Milan.
Connor Hellebuyck has claimed his own net during practice sessions. Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman have rotated in the other net.
Hellebuyck appears to be the front-runner to start against Latvia. Head coach Mike Sullivan hasn’t confirmed his goaltending decision.
“Performance matters,”
Sullivan said, according to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.
