Seven Western Hockey League alumni named to preliminary 2026 Olympic rosters

Calgary, Alta. – Seven Western Hockey League alumni have been named to preliminary rosters ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, which will be held in Milan and Cortina, Italy.

The 12 participating ice hockey federations announced their initial six players on Monday morning.

This marks the first time that NHL players will participate in the Olympics since 2014, when eight WHL graduates won gold for Canada in Sochi, Russia.

WHL Alumni Named to Preliminary Rosters

Canada

F- Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning

F- Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers (Kootenay ICE)*

Czechia

D- Radko Gudas, Anaheim Ducks (Everett Silvertips)

Denmark

F- Oliver Bjorkstrand, Tampa Bay Lightning (Portland Winterhawks)*

Germany

F- Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (Prince Albert Raiders, Kelowna Rockets)*

Latvia

F- Rodrigo Abols, Philadelphia Flyers (Portland Winterhawks

Switzerland

F- Nino Niederreiter, Winnipeg Jets (Portland Winterhawks)

*- Denotes WHL Champion

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point (Calgary, Alta. / Moose Jaw Warriors) suited up for 252 career regular-season games with the Moose Jaw Warriors, recording 324 points (134G-190A). He was named a WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team member in 2015-16. The 29-year-old has gone on to win the Stanley Cup twice with the Lightning and scored the championship-clinching goal in 2020. Point recently helped Canada capture the first-ever Four Nations Face-Off in February of 2025.

Former WHL Player of the Year Sam Reinhart (West Vancouver, B.C. / Kootenay ICE) hopes to add some more hardware to his already-packed trophy case. Reinhart won a WHL Championship with the ICE in 2011 and went on to capture WHL Rookie of the Year honours in 2010-11, WHL Most Sportsmanlike Player and the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy in 2013-14. He piled up 319 points (120G-199A) in 250 regular-season matches. Reinhart was also a member of Canada’s Four Nations Face-Off-winning roster. He scored the 2024 Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Florida Panthers and is in the midst of a battle for a second-straight NHL Championship.

Gritty Czech defender Radko Gudas (Prague, Cze. / Everett Silvertips) joined the Silvertips for the 2009-10 season and led all Everett blueliners in scoring with seven goals (including two game-winners) and 30 assists for 37 points and a +45 rating in 65 games. He was named to the WHL Western Conference Second All-Star Team and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010. Now the Captain of the Anaheim Ducks, Gudas has led the NHL in hits twice and won an IIHF World Championship gold medal in 2024.

Former Winterhawks alternate captain Oliver Bjorkstrand (Herning, Den. / Portland Winterhawks) played a key role in Portland’s dominance in the early-mid 2010s. The flashy forward scored more than 30 goals in each season, highlighted by a monster 63-goal campaign in 2014-15. He racked up 144 goals and 146 assists for 290 points in 193 regular-season contests. Bjorkstrand and the Winterhawks won the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2012-13 and eventually reached the Memorial Cup Final. He also led the WHL in playoff scoring in 2013-14, though the Hawks fell just short in the WHL Championship Series. Bjorkstrand was named the WHL Player of the Year in 2014-15 and earned the Bob Clarke Trophy for most regular-season points (118).

NHL superstar Leon Draisaitl (Cologne, Ger. / Kelowna Rockets) tallied 78 goals and 138 assists for 216 points over 160 regular-season games with the Prince Albert Raiders and Kelowna Rockets. He was traded from Hockeytown North to Kelowna in the 2014-15 season. Draisaitl was named the 2015 WHL Playoffs MVP after putting up 28 points (10G-18A) in 19 games to help the Rockets hoist the Ed Chynoweth Cup. He was also named the Stafford Smythe Trophy winner as the Memorial Cup MVP, where the Rockets reached the championship final. Draisaitl has set the NHL ablaze in the years since, winning the Ted Lindsay Award for NHL regular season MVP, as voted by the NHL Player’s Association, the Rocket Richard trophy for most goals, the Art Ross trophy as the league points leader and the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP. Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers are going up against Reinhart’s Panthers in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.

Defenceman Rodrigo Abols (Riga, Lat. / Portland Winterhawks) played parts of two seasons in the Rose City, scoring 20 goals and 30 assists for 50 points in 64 regular-season tilts. He made his NHL debut at 29 years old when he skated in his first game for the Philadelphia Flyers in January of 2025. Abols is a fixture on Latvia’s national teams, having represented his country at the Olympics twice and playing in nine IIHF World Championship tournaments, highlighted by a bronze medal finish in 2023.

Nino Niederreiter (Chur, Che. / Portland Winterhawks) dazzled over his two seasons with the Portland Winterhawks. Niederreiter picked up 77 goals and 53 assists for 130 points in 120 regular-season games, while reaching the WHL Championship Series twice. He led Portland in goals in 2010-11 with 41 and 2009-10 with 36. Niederreiter was named to the WHL Western Conference Second All-Star Team in 2009-10. In the years since, Niederreiter has won four silver medals for Switzerland at the IIHF World Championship. The 32-year-old Winnipeg Jets winger is closing in on 1,000 NHL games and sits third in all-time scoring by a Swiss NHLer with 480 points (240G-240A).

Full rosters will be announced in early 2026.

The 12-team tournament will run from February 11-22 in Milan.

Group A features Canada, Czechia Switzerland and France, while Group B includes Finland, Sweden, Slovakia and host Italy.

The United States, Germany, Latvia and Denmark make up Group C.

About the Western Hockey League
Regarded as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL offers a world-class player experience featuring three key cornerstones: hockey development, education, and a safe and positive environment for all participants. A diverse and inclusive organization, the WHL consists of 23 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and six in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for close to 60 years. The WHL is also a leading provider of hockey scholarships, with more than 375 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada’s National Junior Hockey Team.