We are about just over six weeks away from Team Canada announcing its team for the much anticipated 2026 Olympic hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo. There is one hockey player who has had an outstanding rookie season for the New York Islanders, who remarkably may be gaining the attention from the management staff. Yes, I am talking about the first overall pick, Matthew Schaefer of Hamilton, Ontario, who could achieve the impossible this season. Schaefer is trying to become the first National Hockey League player ever to win the Norris and Calder in the same season.
Who are the projected defensemen on Team Canada at the Olympics?
Calgary native and Colorado Avalanche blueliner Cale Makar has already been announced to there team. Other Canadian defensemen likely to be chosen include Winnipeg Jets blueliner Josh Morrissey, who is also from Calgary, Makar’s Avalanche teammate Devon Toews of Abbotsford, British Columbia, and Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore of Aldergrove, British Columbia.
That leaves three openings…
Last year the four other Canadian defensemen taken were veteran Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings (Canada’s best player from the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi), Thomas Harley of the Dallas Stars (dual Canadian-American citizen as his parents are from Edmonton even though he was born in New York), Travis Sanheim of the Philadelphia Flyers and Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues. However, Doughty is not as fast as he once was, Parayko is on a terrible Blues team this season and Harley only has 214 NHL games under his belt. This leaves a genuine opening for Schaefer.
Schaefer in 2025-26
In 16 games, Schaefer has five goals and seven assists for 12 points in 16 games. He has four penalty minutes, is a +2 with six power-play points, one game-winning goal, 48 shots on goal, 18 blocked shots, seven hits, eight takeaways, and 23 giveaways.
My take…
Even though Schaefer is an excellent defenseman, he still has only 16 NHL regular season games, and his lack of experience could be considered a concern to many, especially by those in upper management putting Team Canada together. The safer pick is ironically defenseman Noah Dobson of Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Even though Dobson is now with the Montreal Canadiens, he was the top Islanders defenseman last season before being traded to Montreal in the offseason on June 27.
