5 Lightning Named to Preliminary Rosters for the 2026 Winter Olympics
The 2026 Olympic Winter Games will take place from Feb. 6 to 22, 2026, in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and five members of the Tampa Bay Lightning have been named to their respective countries’ preliminary rosters.
From host Italy to gold-medal favorite Canada, each team announced six players, regardless of position, who will be locked into their rosters when the puck drops in Milan Cortina next February.
While the Groups have been set, the final competition schedule is yet to be announced. The men’s tournament will start with preliminary games Feb. 11, with the gold medal game scheduled for Feb. 22.
Group A: Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, France
Group B: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Italy
Group C: U.S., Germany, Latvia, Denmark
The remainder of the rosters will be announced later this year. Here are the members of the Lightning that have been named on preliminary rosters.
Victor Hedman – Sweden
The 34-year-old from Ornskoldsvik and Lightning captain has 794 points (171 goals, 623 assists) in 1,131 games since being selected second overall at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. A six-time finalist for the Norris Trophy, he won the award in 2018 as the League’s best defenseman. Hedman is a three-time All-Star (2017, 2020, 2022) and had 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 25 games to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as Stanley Cup Playoff MVP in 2020, helping the Lightning win the first of back-to-back championships.
He scored one goal in four games for Sweden in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and has represented them at the World Championship four times. Hedman was captain for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Sweden was eliminated from the tournament despite being the only one of the four teams that did not lose in regulation. They finished 1-0-2-0, having also come out on the short end of a 4-3 overtime decision to Canada.
Erik Cernak – Slovakia
Cernak had an NHL career-high 21 points (three goals, 18 assists) and a plus-29 rating in 76 games this season. The 28-year-old from Kosice has 603-career blocked shots and 1,197 hits in 441 games. Because of the Lightning’s deep Stanley Cup Playoff runs in previous seasons, Cernak hasn’t played at the World Championship since 2019. He won bronze with Czechia at the 2015 World Junior Championship (WJC).
The Los Angeles Kings selected Cernak in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft. He was traded to the Lightning in 2017 for Ben Bishop and Tampa Bay’s fifth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 3, 2018.
Zemgus Girgensons – Latvia
An NHL All-Star in 2014-15, the 31-year-old has 194 points (91 goals, 103 assists) in 770 games, playing his first 10 seasons with the Sabres before having six points (two goals, four assists) in 82 games for the Lightning in 2024-25. A native of Riga, Girgensons had two points (one goal, one assist) in five games for Latvia in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and hasn’t competed internationally since the 2017 World Championship.
Seeking a career in the NHL, Girgensons left his native Latvia to play junior hockey in the United States with Green Mountain of the Eastern Junior Hockey League, where he had 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 23 games in 2009-10. He was selected by the Sabres in the first round of the 2012 Draft, becoming the highest draft pick chosen from Latvia. He spent 688 games on a Sabres team that extended its NHL-record postseason drought to a 14th season. Girgensons signed a three-year, $2.55 million contract with the Lightning last season.
Brayden Point – Canada
Point has scored at least 40 goals each of the past three seasons and had 42 goals and 82 points in 77 games for the Lightning this season. He set career bests of 51 goals and 95 points in the 2022-23 season. The 29-year-old center has 635 points (306 goals, 329 assists) in 657 games and led the playoffs in goals in 2020 and 2021, scoring 14 in each to help the Lightning win the back-to-back Cups. He scored his 300th-career NHL goal in the Lightning’s 8-0 win against the Utah Hockey Club (now Utah Mammoth) on March 27, 2025.
The Lightning’s third-round pick in 2024 won gold at the 2015 WJC, the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this season, and silver at the 2017 World Championship. Point was also the MVP of the 2013 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, where he scored four points in five games to help Canada win the gold medal.
Oliver Bjorkstrand – Denmark
The 30-year-old had 46 points (21 goals, 25 assists) in 79 games this season between the Seattle Kraken and Lightning and has 384 points (172 goals, 212 assists) in 624 games, including his first seven NHL seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Bjorkstrand, a Herning native, is a six-time 20-goal scorer who has represented Denmark at the Worlds and Olympic qualifiers twice.
The Lightning acquired Bjorkstrand in a three-team trade with the Kraken and Detroit Red Wings on March 5 of this year.
The NHL has confirmed its players will participate in both the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympic Games. NHL players have previously participated in five Winter Olympics — 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014.
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