Only 30 players in hockey history have completed a trifecta of a Stanley Cup title, a World Championship gold medal, and an Olympic gold medal.
The exclusive Triple Gold Club was conceived in 2001 by Szymon Szemberg of the IIHF, to recognize “the three most important championships available to the sport.” The had club gained its first three members; Tomas Jonsson, Mats Naslund and Hakan Loob, when Sweden won gold at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.
Over the past 32 years, a total of eleven Canadians, nine Swedes, seven Russians, two Czechs and one Finn have earned the distinction.
At the 2026 Winter Games in Milano Cortina, there are thirteen players who are eligible to achieve the rare feat by winning Olympic gold, and five of them play for Team Canada.
Darcy Kuemper, Brad Marchand, Nathan MacKinnon, Sam Reinhart and Mark Stone are all part of the Canadian entry that plays its first game on Thursday versus Czechia. Canada has won the last two Olympics with NHL participation (2010,2014). A gold medal for coach Jon Cooper’s squad in 2026 would set a record for most new Triple Gold Club members gained in a single Olympics.
The current benchmark is three, first set by Sweden in 1994, then equalled by Canada at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. By virtue of Canada’s memorable 5-2 win over the United States, future Hall of Famers Rob Blake, Joe Sakic and Brendan Shanahan became the first Canadians to reach the Triple Gold milestone.
Since then, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Eric Staal, Jonathan Toews, Patrice Bergeron, Sidney Crosby, Corey Perry and Jay Bouwmeester have joined their fellow countrymen in earning the achievement.
Interestingly, no goalie has yet entered the club. Darcy Kuemper would be the first-ever netminder to reach Triple Gold status with an Olympic championship in Milano Cortina, complemented by his gold medal at the 2021 World Championships, and his Stanley Cup win in 2022 as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.
Kuemper’s Cup-winning teammate Nathan MacKinnon won World Championship gold in 2015. Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart and Mark Stone were all on Canada’s World Championship entry the following year, the country defending its gold medal. Marchand and Reinhart have of course enjoyed back-to-back Stanley Cup success with Florida the past two seasons (Marchand first’s Cup coming with Boston in 2011), and Stone hoisted Lord Stanley’s mug in 2023 with Vegas.
The other Triple Gold Club candidates playing at the 2026 Olympics are:
Finland (2): Eetu Luostarinen, Niko Mikkola
Czechia (3): Michal Kempny, Ondrej Palat, Jan Rutta
Sweden (3): Victor Hedman, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Gabriel Landeskog
The United States has historically underachieved at the World Championships. As a result, the Americans do not yet have a Triple Gold Club member.
The 2025 gold medal victory by Team USA was its first since 1960 (the Olympics and World Championships doubling as the same event until 1968.) From that roster, Clayton Keller, Jackson Lacombe, Jeremy Swayman, Tage Thompson and Zach Werenski could each get to two-thirds of the way to Triple Gold status with an Olympic championship in Milano Cortina. The Stanley Cup is another matter, for these players.
As always, international pride is on the line at the Winter Games. Meanwhile thirteen players – five Canadians – have a shot at further hockey immortality in 2026.
