Three Habs to Take Part in Canada’s Olympic Orientation Camp
The 2026 Winter Olympics will feature NHL players for the first time since 2014 when the tournament gets underway in February. Countries are hosting orientation camps this summer in preparation for the event and three Habs will be taking part in Canada’s camp.
On Friday, Hockey Canada announced its 42-player roster for the camp. Not surprisingly, Samuel Montembeault is in the group after being the third-string option for the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this year. Somewhat surprisingly, only those three goalies are attending when the other position groups have considerably more options.
Meanwhile, the two Montreal attendees who didn’t play in the 4 Nations are centre Nick Suzuki and new defenceman Noah Dobson. Suzuki was speculated to be one of the final few cuts from the roster while Dobson, in the midst of a quieter year with the Islanders, wasn’t believed to be in serious consideration for a spot on the back end.
Suzuki was one of the top players offensively in the NHL following the break so his stock is on the rise although he’s going up against many top centres for a spot. Speculatively, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him viewed as a winger if he winds up on the final team.
Dobson, however, feels like more of a long shot to make the final team. It’s likely that he won’t have quite as much of a prominent offensive role with the Habs with Lane Hutson on the roster. Considering that Cale Makar and Drew Doughty are offensive-minded righties with a long history with Hockey Canada while Evan Bouchard is also in the mix, it’s hard to see Dobson outplaying one of those on that side. Meanwhile, Colton Parayko, Aaron Ekblad, and MacKenzie Weegar are also in the mix.
Of course, lots can change over the course of the first half of the season and others not at this camp can certainly play their way into the mix. But the inclusions of the three Canadiens here suggest that they’re at least in serious consideration for the spots. They’ll get a chance to make a good impression when the camp gets underway on August 26th.