Edmonton Oilers defencemen Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard will be joined by three former teammates when they represent Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland.

On Friday, Hockey Canada released the full roster for the tournament, and fans will see Nurse and Bouchard reunited with former Oilers teammates Connor Brown, Dylan Holloway, and Cam Talbot.

Brown was the most recent loss of the bunch after he left in free agency last summer to pursue other opportunities. Ultimately he landed in New Jersey, where he had a stellar season, tying his career high of 43 in points – one more than the forward recorded through his 153 games with the Oilers.

The St. Louis Blues are reaping the rewards of their 2024 offer sheet acquisition of Holloway. Since the Oilers decided to receive compensation of a third-round pick for him, the young gun has tallied 48 goals and 114 points in 148 games for the Blues. He’s yet another player who has found another level to his game upon his departure from the Oilers, where he had nine goals and 18 points in 89 games in his tenure with the team.

As for Talbot, he hasn’t been a member of the organization since he was traded in February 2019, prompting Mikko Koskinen to become their starter. The “Goalbuster,” who is known for his Ghostbusters-themed masks, has played on six teams since his departure, and has seen many ups and downs in his personal statistics. Still, he was one of the best Oilers goaltenders in the 2010s, as he logged a 104-95-19 record, holding a 2.74 goals-against average and a save percentage of .912 in Edmonton.

Both Brown and Talbot have both won gold with Team Canada in the World Championships — Talbot’s came as the starting goaltender in 2016 and Brown’s in 2021. Holloway has not represented Canada since winning silver in the 2021 World Junior Championship.

Bouchard and Nurse are coming off a disappointing finish to the season for the Oilers, who were eliminated by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round. For Bouchard, this will be his first time representing Team Canada at a senior level, whereas Nurse has represented Canada in 20 games at the World Championship in 2018 and 2019, scoring two goals and five points.

Canada is looking to win their first medal in the tournament since they achieved gold in 2023. Their roster is rounded out by top prospects and NHLers such as Macklin Celebrini, Mark Scheifele, John Tavares, and others. Nations are allowed to carry 25 players to the tournament, meaning there are still two spots that could potentially be filled before next Friday’s tournament kickoff.