Team Canada’s men’s hockey team went a perfect 3-0 in the preliminary round, scoring 20 goals to lead the Winter Olympics, while netminders Jordan Binnington and Logan Thompson combined for a 0.954 save percentage, which is also the best in the tournament so far.

Team Canada now has a bye to the quarterfinals, and while they await the winner of Tuesday’s qualification-round matchup between Czechia and Denmark to see who they’ll play, here’s a look at five Team Canada players who made a big impact in the preliminary round.

As someone who watches the Edmonton Oilers closely, I’m well aware — though he still surprises me often — of what Connor McDavid is capable of on a game-to-game basis. That said, for hockey fans who cheer for other teams during the NHL season but root for Team Canada in best-on-best tournaments, it must be a real treat to finally get to cheer out loud for the best player on the planet. I’ve seen this firsthand in the messages I received during the preliminary round from friends and family who cheer for teams other than the Oilers: “Did you see that from McDavid?!” or updates on his unbelievable stats.

To say that McDavid made an impact for Team Canada through the preliminary round seems like an understatement. He flat-out dominated. Team Canada’s superstar recorded nine points (two goals, seven assists) in three games, led the team with 13 shots, and, while he’s been on the highlight reels for spectacular plays, he’s also made those reels for delivering bone-crushing hits.

That said, let’s take a look at what McDavid has accomplished so far in the preliminary round. He’s set a new benchmark for most points through the first three games of the Olympics with NHL players. He now holds the record for most points in a single Olympics by a Canadian NHL player and he’s currently just three points shy of passing the all-time NHL player record of 11 points at the Olympics, set by Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne in 2006.

Before the Olympics started, the Oilers’ captain alluded in The Players’ Tribune how important his legacy is to him, and with the unworldly way he’s playing in the Winter Olympics in front of millions of people, he’s well on his way to adding another stamp to that legacy.

To no one’s surprise, Nathan MacKinnon made an impact in the preliminary rounds, ranking among Team Canada’s top scorers with five points (two goals and three assists) in the first three games.

MacKinnon has centred his own line with a mix of players, setting up Brandon Hagel for a 5v5 goal in the last game against France, and overall, he’s been explosive throughout the tournament. But the line that has everyone talking? MacKinnon skating with Celebrini and McDavid. Midway through the game against Switzerland, the hockey world got a taste of an all-generational trio of former first-overall picks — and they delivered, combining for two goals.

Since then, they’ve been put together in stints throughout the games, but anytime they’re on the ice together, hockey fans are glued to their TVs. To illustrate further just how electric that combination is, if Webster’s Dictionary still sells physical copies, you’d see the faces of Celebrini, McDavid, and MacKinnon right under the word.

It’s such a luxury for Team Canada to have world-class centermen like McDavid, MacKinnon, and Sidney Crosby, and the balanced approach of having MacKinnon play down the middle for the upcoming quarterfinals seems most logical. But the real luxury? Head coach John Cooper has an ace up his sleeve — the line of Celebrini, McDavid, and MacKinnon — ready if he needs it.

Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson has played mostly with McDavid and Celebrini on the first line with Team Canada, with stints in the bottom six mixed in. But when he’s been on that top line, I’ve scribbled this a few times in my notepad throughout the tournament: “Wilson hit, McDavid intercept, Celebrini shot.”

Not everyone can play and read the plays with McDavid, but Wilson is filling that physical grinder role — similar to Zach Hyman in Edmonton — near-perfectly.

Wilson has registered three points (one goal, two assists) in the first three games and has been a physical menace throughout, but what has impressed me most is how quickly he figured out how to play with McDavid. It only took a couple of shifts to adjust to his centerman’s speed, and after that, it was near automatic. One example was him gaining the zone against Switzerland, dropping it quickly to McDavid, which led to a Thomas Harley goal.

Also, we know the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder is as physical as they come, throwing a few hits each game. But what’s surprised me most is his quick touches and his ability to think the game quickly. There was one instance against Team Czechia when Canada was breaking out — Wilson received the puck in the neutral zone, made a quick behind-the-back backhand pass onto his linemate’s tape while he was streaking, and McDavid was gone. That little sneaky pass is something I’ve seen Ryan Nugent-Hopkins do many times with McDavid, an underrated but important play that Wilson has shown he can execute, which plays to his centerman’s strengths.

Of course, we can’t get this far chatting about Wilson without mentioning his dust-up with France’s Pierre Crinon. The French D-man levelled MacKinnon, and Wilson went after him a couple of shifts later.

Though I’d imagine Wilson didn’t get as many punches in as he would’ve wanted, as a fan of Team Canada, you love to see him stick up for his teammate. It’s an impactful reminder that he has his teammates’ backs. If Team Canada face Team U.S.A. in the finals and the Tkachuk brothers start running around, there’s comfort knowing there is a loose cannon in Wilson — who earned a Gordie Howe hat trick with the scuffle against France — ready to defend his teammates.

The ageless Sidney Crosby continues to deliver for his country, even at 38 years old. Team Canada’s captain had an excellent preliminary round, recording six points (two goals and four assists), tied for second on the team through the first three games.

Crosby has delivered countless memorable moments while representing Team Canada, winning at every level — from the World Juniors, World Cup, World Championships, and 4 Nations Face-Off to two Olympic gold medals, including the iconic ‘Golden Goal’ at the 2010 Olympics. That said, he added another accolade in the preliminary round against France: his three-point night gave him 16 career Olympic points, the most by a Canadian, eclipsing the national team’s NHL-era record of 14, previously held by Jarome Iginla.

If you’ve followed my writing, I’ve always said we shouldn’t take for granted the era we’re in with McDavid doing great things on a nightly basis, but that statement hits even harder with Crosby. At 38 years old, we might not get many more at-bats with him representing Team Canada. He made an impact in the preliminary round, and as the tournament progresses, Crosby’s experience and knack for delivering in the big moments become even more valuable.

The 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini is emerging as a must-watch superstar on the biggest international stage at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

He’s tallied six points (four goals and two assists) through Team Canada’s first three games, and his four goals are tied for the tournament lead — while sporting an absurd 40% shooting percentage. All four of Celebrini’s goals have been impressive: a tip-in deflection, a goal that showcased his laser of a shot, a power-play tally where he showed elite patience, and a penalty-shot goal. On top of that, in the process, he became the first NHL player to score a penalty-shot goal at the Olympics.

Some other accomplishments by the 19-year-old so far in the Olympics: He surpassed Olli Määttä for the most goals by a teenager in an Olympic tournament with NHL players, and he tied Evgeni Malkin for the most points by a teenager at an Olympic tournament with NHL players.

Celebrini is so skilled, cerebral, and confident, and he’s been attached at the hip with McDavid so far in the Winter Olympics, and that definitely won’t change. They’ve read off each other perfectly from the start, playing keep-away from the competition, and with how often they’ve completely taken over shifts, each player could easily have a few more points.

Certain players can read the game well with McDavid, but I feel there hasn’t been a player the Oilers’ captain has played with who has first-step quickness as good as Celebrini’s. An example of that is McDavid’s goal against France, when McDavid received the puck in Canada’s zone, and then he and Celebrini were off to the races. A couple of quick passes later, and it was in the back of France’s net.

Everyone knows the Edmonton Oilers’ dynamic duo is McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. But watch out — at the international level, Team Canada now has McDavid and Celebrini, a combination that could torch the competition for the next ten years.

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