Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid was among the headliners as Hockey Canada named the first six players to its preliminary men’s hockey roster for the Milan-Cortina Olympics next February.
McDavid was joined on the early list by forward Nathan MacKinnon and defenceman Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point and Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart.
“These are six world-class players and leaders that are deserving of this recognition,” Canada general manager Doug Armstrong said Monday in a statement released by Hockey Canada.
“Sidney, Nathan, Cale, Connor, Brayden and Sam provide a strong foundation for a successful team and have been proven winners at all levels of their professional and international careers, and we look forward to all six being key contributors to our team as we look to accomplish our goal of winning Olympic gold.”
The rest of the roster will be finalized early next year. The 12-country tournament begins Feb. 11.
It will be the first time that NHL players participate in the Olympics since 2014 in Sochi, Russia, where Canada defeated Sweden 3-0 for the gold medal.
Early roster announcements were also used ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament last February.
McDavid scored the overtime winner to give Canada a 3-2 victory over the United States in the championship game in Boston.
The event marked the first best-on-best competition since the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.
France and the United States will also announce their selections later Monday.
The main venue for the 12-day Olympic tournament will be the new 14,000-seat Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. The secondary venue will be the 5,700-seat Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.
Canada is in Group A with the Czech Republic, Switzerland and France.
Group B includes Finland, Sweden, Slovakia and host Italy. Group C has the United States, Germany, Latvia, and Denmark.
Eight other nations released their initial lists of participants for the 12-team tourney early Monday:
