Stock up or down? Seven players to watch ahead of 2026 Olympics

Canada defeated Team USA 3-2 in overtime thanks to a Connor McDavid winner in the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off championship game Thursday night.

With the tournament concluded and NHL games resuming Saturday, here are seven players with Olympic aspirations to watch throughout the rest of this season some trending up and others trending in the wrong direction.

Stock rising 1.

Dylan Larkin, C, Detroit Red Wings (USA) Larkin spent much of the tournament looking like he was shot out of a cannon providing tremendous speed down Team USA's lineup.

In Team USA's most important round-robin game, he scored a goal and added an assist in a convincing 3-1 win over Team Canada.

2.

Lucas Raymond, W, Detroit Red Wings (Sweden) Raymond was arguably Sweden's best player in its best performance finishing with two assists and three shots on goal in a 4-3 OT loss to Canada to open the tournament.

He has almost certainly secured a spot high on Sweden's 2026 roster.

3.

Jordan Binnington, G, St.

Louis Blues (Canada) Also, that was a great game by Jordan Binnington.

It's almost unbelievable how one stretch of hot play can change the entire perception around a player.

The goalie crisis in Canada has been well-documented, including by our own Adam Gretz .

With Canada reeling early in the overtime period, Binnington stood tall against multiple grade-A chances.

In total, he stopped 20 consecutive shots and 31 of 33 to end the game and secure the tournament victory for Canada despite uneven play during the round robin.

4.

Niko Mikkola, D, Florida Panthers (Finland) Finland had its moments in this tournament, but it was always going to be an uphill battle without superstar Dallas defender Miro Heiskanen.

Mikkola has been asked to take on additional responsibility at 5-on-5 with Florida this season, and Team Finland made a similar ask in this situation.

Mikkola finished with two assists, four blocked shots and five hits while being deployed on Finland's top pair.

He finished minus-one on a Finnish team that was minus-six in 5-on-5 goals.

Stock falling 1.

Elias Pettersson, C, Vancouver Canucks (Sweden) "I mean he was invisible, he was non existent.." @CraigJButton wasn't holding back grading Elias Pettersson's #4Nations performance.

Full interview..

https://t.co/AowT6dF8nK pic.twitter.com/IeB6yUcGZm It was a brutal tournament for the already-embattled Swede.

Pettersson has been the subject of trade rumors for a few months not all of which is related to his feud with American J.T.

Miller.

His challenging season spilled into this tournament scoring no points and watching his ice time decrease in each game to the point where he played only 6:34 at 5-on-5 in Sweden's win over Team USA.

CONNOR MCDAVID!! GOLDEN GOAL ( @espn ) pic.twitter.com/5SfckC5oAU 2.

Adam Fox, D, New York Rangers (USA) Fox wasn't bad in the tournament, but he was minus-two in the final against Canada and on-ice for the tournament-winning goal.

More importantly, his role will likely be called into question before the Olympics in 2026.

Fox is an excellent, well-rounded player, former Norris Trophy winner and a nuclear weapon on the power play.

That he didn't play on the top unit after the opening win versus Finland seems like a problem.

Lacking the blazing skating speed on display in this tournament, it wouldn't be a surprise if Team USA opted for a greater size-speed combination in the lineup if they won't use the brilliant, cerebral Fox on the top power-play unit.

3.

Kevin Lankinen, G, Vancouver Canucks (Finland) Lankinen had a tall task in front of him for an injury-depleted Finland.

Even by the low standards, it was a slog.

The low point included allowing four goals on 13 shots in a 5-3 loss to Canada that didn't feel as close as that score indicates.

Alex Wiederspiel is a digital reporter, play-by-play broadcaster, radio show host and podcast host in West Virginia covering high school athletics, Division II college athletics, and some West Virginia University athletics.

He's an avid follower of all things hockey and football with a soft spot for prospects -- the future stars of the league.

When not consuming sports, Alex is usually doing something related to Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or watching movies for his movie podcast, The Movie Spiel.

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