Three skaters from the 2025–26 Edmonton Oilers are currently in Milan, Italy for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Connor McDavid is a major part of the Team Canada roster, while Leon Draisaitl and Josh Samanski are playing for Team Germany. Being able to tout three Olympians on your roster is a pretty decent achievement, all things considered.
However, given that the Oilers have so much talent on the roster, it’s hard not to feel like there could have been more. This is, after all, the same team that has reigned supreme in the Western Conference the past two seasons. And they’ve got plenty of representation from other nations on their roster. There’s also been opportunities to include players as injury replacements.
Sure, you could look at it as a good thing that the Oilers, beyond their two superstars and fresh-faced German rookie, will get a full reset until nearly the end of February. They’ve started to fall apart mentally as of late, and exhaustion could be setting in. But Olympic hockey glory can be pretty irresistible.
Of all the Oilers staying home for the next two weeks, who is the most deserving of a ticket to Milan they never received? Who is the biggest snub? We asked, and you all answered.
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Zach Hyman, Team Canada
This week’s poll winner is none other than noted Brantford Bulldogs owner Zach Hyman. Hyman, a longstanding linemate of McDavid, has been money ever since joining the Oilers. Yet, neither of those facts were enough to win him a spot on the national roster.
A plurality (44.7%) of voters chose Hyman as the biggest snub, and it’s hard to dispute that. He’s already secured his fifth consecutive 20-goal campaign since joining the Oilers, and is up to 36 points in just 39 games played this season. McDavid’s only linemate “better” than Hyman is Draisaitl. Which means that the “loaded up” top line option consists of McDavid, Draisaitl, and Hyman.
Hyman is also very tenacious, which lends itself to aspects of the game beyond simply scoring. He’s usually very solid defensively, and his season debut saw him throw a whopping 11 hits against Carolina. As the Letterkenny coach said about tenacity: You can’t teach that. That is what completes the determination that Hyman not making Team Canada is the biggest snub of an Oiler.
Evan Bouchard, Team Canada
An even 35% of voters picked Bouchard as the biggest snub, and given the performances he’s had of late, it is also a good choice. The game against the Washington Capitals was on par with Bobby Orr’s best, in terms of quality. That is extremely rarified air.
The longstanding knock on Bouchard as a defenceman has been his ability to play defence. His pizza deliveries earlier in the season might have taken away the chance for him to enjoy some Italian ‘zas while playing hockey in the next two weeks. Truthfully, his start to the season was underwhelming, as he both couldn’t score, and leaked chances against.
Sure, he’s picked it up as of late. Sure, that Washington game probably made GM Doug Armstrong eat some crow. But unfortunately for Bouchard, it all came just a bit too late for his Olympic chances. If he can put forth more bad than good, though, he can still be a lock for the 2030 games. That is, if Drew Doughty retires before then.
Mattias Ekholm, Team Sweden
Ekholm was selected by about one-fifth of voters, and this was also a pretty obvious choice. Team Sweden lost multiple players to injury before the start of the Olympics. And Ekholm was a savvy pick as a defensive replacement, given his appearance at the 4 Nations Face-off last February.
Therein lies the most significant factor in Ekholm not being brought to Milan with his three teammates. Allegedly, there is a strong resentment involving Ekholm, and Team Sweden Head Coach Sam Hallam. Ekholm, it is said, either refused to be scratched while feeling sick, or disapproved of being placed on the third pairing. Both, even, could be true.
So, even despite notching his first career hat trick two nights after Bouchard did his own, Ekholm isn’t going to the Olympics. Instead, the Swedes decided on- checks notes -Hampus Lindholm. This observer is inclined to agree voters here—that’s a BIG snub.
Kasperi Kapanen, Team Finland
This feels like this is a very underrated snub, since nobody has talked about it much besides this observer in a previous article. Kapanen got just 1.5% of the vote, perhaps due to lacking the same name recognition as the previous three Oilers. But considering both history and present-day effect, there’s several reasons the Finns ought to have included Kapanen.
From a historical standpoint, Kapanen played a huge part in Team Finland winning World Juniors gold on home ice in 2016. Most notably, he scored the clinching goal in the gold-medal game. Surely, in Finland, there aren’t many more iconic calls than the one shown below TSN’s feed.
Kapanen, as evidenced in last year’s playoffs, still has that knack for scoring a big goal at any time. He was the only player to beat either of two good goalies in Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights. And as far as the present-day goes, Kapanen has found excellent chemistry in the Edmonton lineup. Playing on a line with Draisaitl, and Vasily Podkolzin, since his return he has 10 points and a plus-10. That’s in just 13 games.
Not many people selected Kapanen as the biggest snub. But he certainly deserves some more recognition as a snub. To leave off a top-six forward producing at nearly a point-per-game clip is tough, even if he was behind the 8-ball due to injury. Now we have to hope to see him score a big goal for Team Finland in France in 2030.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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