Team Canada is coming off another impressive victory, this time, a 5-1 defeat of Switzerland to build off a 5-0 opening game win over Czechia. All of the questions about the chemistry and the weaknesses of the 2026 team are in the past.
The only question now is what the path to Gold for the Canadians looks like. Czechia and Switzerland aren’t weak opponents, and they outscored them 10-1 while looking like a team in a different league.
Related: Unlike 2006, Team USA Start With A Bang
Canada’s team is one that hockey fans everywhere can appreciate. Even the opposition must admit that it’s an exciting group to watch. The Gold isn’t theirs, at least not yet, and the USA team and the other top nations will have a strong argument to dethrone them. At the same time, Canada is carving out a place in hockey history with this version of the Olympic team and just how good it can be.
Canada’s Forward Group is Simply Overwhelming
The forward lines are the headliners of this Canadian team. One game, it’s Mitch Marner finding Mark Stone, and the next game, it’s the trio of Hart Trophy winners (plus a future one in Macklin Celebrini) connecting for goals. When Canada puts Celebrini on the same line as Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, it’s a passing of the torch moment and also a line that’s skilled to beat just about any defense. That’s what happened on Friday night against the Swiss as they scored three goals and added five assists in the win.
It’s not just that line either; it’s all four forward lines that are coming at teams in waves. In the modern game, a championship team must have a forward unit that can do it all and play fast or physical, depending on the situation, and if the game becomes a track meet, it must run up the score on anyone. Canada has star power everywhere to do just that.
It’s also impressive that Canada is pivoting depending on how the games shape up. The forward group scores in the dirty areas and also on rush chances. Then there’s the power play where they look unstoppable, thanks in part to the Sidney Crosby addition to the McDavid-MacKinnon duo (Sam Reinhart is on this unit yet looks like the fourth or fifth option on most shifts).
Canada is built from the forward unit out. However, it’s worth adding that the defense is making an impact at the point as well, more than expected. Everyone expected Cale Makar to be great, and he is. The surprise is that the other blue liners are stepping up as well, most notably, Thomas Harley, a defenseman many hockey experts know is elite but fans are starting to notice (much like Jaccob Slavin from the USA side last year).
The Reversal From 2014
The 2014 Olympic team won with elite defense. The word elite fails to describe how good Canada was on the defensive end and in the net. They allowed three goals in six games. They had three shutouts, including shutting down the USA and Swedish teams in the Semifinal and Final.
The question by the time Canada faced Sweden in the Final wasn’t whether Canada would win, it was whether Sweden would score. The Final was a 3-0 stomping, and many wonder how many periods of hockey would have to be played until the victors allowed a goal.
That was a boring brand of hockey and, in many ways, the end of an era. The 1990s saw the goaltending revolution, and by the early 2010s, elite goaltending was at an all-time high. The shutout by Carey Price, who would win the Hart Trophy the next season, closed the curtain on that era. It’s one that hockey purists will say is necessary since defense wins championships but for fans, it was a grind to the victory without the highlight moments.
The 2026 team is the opposite. The goaltenders have played above their weight, yet this team is remembered so far for scoring, with 10 goals in two games. The offense is what’s winning them games.
As the tournament goes on and the competition stiffens, goaltending might become a question mark, and the ability to defend might be exposed. Somehow, none of that seems to matter right now. They can outscore any nation to victory, even a USA squad that has plenty of skill in its own right.
Don’t Compare This Group to the Past But Appreciete it’s Present
Many hockey fans will read this article in disgust. Those who watched the 1987 Canada Cup team will insist that it’s the greatest team ever assembled, and it’s hard to deny that. That team had Hall of Fame players throughout the lineup and was led by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, the greatest and arguably the second greatest player of all time.
That team was constructed and won 39 years ago. You must be 46 or older to have a clear memory of that team, and for what it’s worth, you must be 60 to remember the 1972 Summit Series team, the other Canadian roster that many claim to be up there as the greatest. For many hockey fans, the 2026 team, from an excitement standpoint, is as close as it gets to 1987.
The 2002 and 2010 Canadian teams were more complete. The teams in the 1990s were better defensively. In a full-circle moment, this team is a throwback to the 1980s, where it can score and score in bunches. It’s what makes them fun for hockey fans everywhere, even those hoping Canada loses at some point down the stretch.
The 2002 and 2010 teams were more complete teams. The teams in the 1990s were better defensively. In a full-circle moment, this team is a throwback from a scoring standpoint, and it’s exciting to watch for hockey fans everywhere.
