Ask any player, and they’ll agree that making an Olympic hockey roster is one of the most rewarding feats in a professional career.
Representing one’s country is an even more impressive accomplishment for younger players still finding their feet in the NHL. Cut from a different cloth, the individuals featured on this list are no strangers to exceeding expectations.
They comprise the top five players heading to the Olympics who are under 25.
5. Jesper Wallstedt, G, Sweden
Jesper Wallstedt made the decision easy for the Team Sweden decision-makers. The only goaltender on this list, the 23-year-old has been phenomenal in his first full season.
He leads the league with four shutouts despite playing only 17 games. Wallstedt secured five goose eggs in his first 15 NHL career games. Only Frank ‘Mr. Zero’ Brimsek got to five shutouts faster, achieving the feat in nine starts in 1938.
The Minnesota Wild goaltender has the third-best goals-against average (2.30) and best save percentage (.928) for those with at least 15 starts.
And now, after only 22 NHL starts, he’s headed for the Olympics to represent his nation.
4. Leo Carlsson, C, Sweden
Leo Carlsson is the most impressive youngster on an Anaheim Ducks team that has an embarrassment of youthful riches.
The second pick from the 2023 draft cracked Sweden’s 4 Nations roster last year and was a shoo-in to get selected for the Olympics. He leads the Ducks with 42 points (17 goals and 25 assists) in 40 games, the first time in his three-year career that he’s scored north of a point per game.
The 21-year-old is the second-youngest player on this list, and he’s clearly going to be an influential part of the Team Sweden setup for years to come.
3. Matt Boldy, RW, USA
A contender to be named the unofficial second-best supporting act, Matt Boldy is enjoying a career year as he helps the Wild make waves in the Western Conference.
The 24-year-old is second in the league with 26 goals. Only the prolific Nathan MacKinnon has more (35). Like Carlsson, Boldy, playing in his fifth season, is scoring more than a point per game for the first time. Selected by the Wild with the No. 12 pick in the 2019 draft, he is tied for the second-most even-strength goals (18) with three others.
That’s largely thanks to being more ruthless in front of the net, with his 18.3 shooting percentage five percent higher than any other season.
Boldy, who had three points in four games with Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off, should have a more influential role on the world’s most high-profile stage.
2. Jack Hughes, C, USA
Inarguably one of the NHL’s most talented players, Jack Hughes skates like the wind and is as skillful as they come. However, the 24-year-old has gone through the injury wringer, suffering multiple serious setbacks that have thus far prevented him from joining his brother, Quinn, in the NHL’s megastar club.
He only played more than 62 games once in his first six seasons. The former No. 1 draft pick has amassed at least a point per game in four consecutive seasons, and he’s on pace to make it five.
Hughes took some flak for being bullied in last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, so it will be interesting to see how he acquits himself this time around.
1. Macklin Celebrini, C, Canada
Not only the youngest, but the player on the list who has the best chance of becoming a generational talent. Last season’s Calder Trophy winner is already being compared to Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.
Speaking of which, Celebrini is on pace to score 126 points this season, which would be six more than Crosby and 26 more than McDavid in their sophomore seasons.
The 19-year-old is third in scoring, with 63 points (22 goals and 41 assists).
He has the second-most assists (41), is tied for the second-most even-strength goals (18), has the second-most even-strength points (46) and primary assists (29). And there’s a chance he and McDavid will be linemates in Italy. Wouldn’t that be something?
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