The Team Canada rosters for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy will be announced in a couple of days, and a couple of players from the Los Angeles Kings are vying for spots on the active roster late this month.
Drew Doughty vying for a spot on the Team Canada roster on the blue line for the Winter Olympics
Kings' veteran defenseman Drew Doughty is confident that he'll be there in Italy in a couple of months this winter in February for the 2026 Winter Olympics for the Team Canada blue-line active roster. He's sounded very confident in his spot on the Team Canada roster on blue line on defense in recent interviews and sound bites he's given in the past few months this fall.
Doughty told Sportsnet a couple of weeks ago in mid-to-late December on Dec. 19 that he "expects to be there" playing for Team Canada in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy in a couple of months.
"I’m still playing the most minutes on my team, playing in all our top situations. I know it's not the national team, but you need older guys who are veteran guys who can play in those moments, and I know how to do that. I've done it before. The pressure is not going to get to me. I always play my best in those situations. In my heart and mind, I expect to be there."Drew Doughty
Doughty has been placed as a defenseman competing for a spot on the bubble roster for Team Canada for 2026 in the Winter Olympics. He is competing with multiple other defensemen in the league in the NHL for a roster spot for the Olympics for 2026.
"When people are excluding me from that list, in my head I'm like, I don't understand how at all they could be doing that. I mean, I am old, but man, I'm still playing at a high level."Doughty
In the past decade and a half or so, Doughty is not only one of the most accomplished defensemen in the league in the NHL, but he's also a veteran with multiple years of experience playing for Team Canada on the blue line on defense. Doughty knows he can compete at a high level with the rest of Team Canada for the Olympics this winter in a couple of months in Italy in February.
"I'm playing well, I don't have great offensive numbers or anything, but that's not why Team Canada's taking me. They’re taking me to be on the PK and shut down and stuff like that. I've been doing a great job with that this year. I'm still a high-level player and skating much better than I was last season. I did decently for them at Four Nations, and I'm playing way better this year than I could last year."Doughty
This past year in the inaugural 4 Nations Tournament in 2025, Doughty helped to lead Team Canada to a title. He's also helped Team Canada win multiple Gold Medals in the past 15 years in the Winter Olympics playing for the team on the blue-line roster.