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Two Oilers land on projected Canadian 2028 World Cup of Hockey roster

Photo credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

By Zach Laing

Jul 10, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 10, 2026, 14:51 EDT

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We may be a few years away from the next rendition of best-on-best hockey, but that doesn’t mean it’s too soon to start looking at who could make the rosters.

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis, Scott Maxwell, and Matt Larkin dove into the Canadian roster, each projecting the forwards, defencemen, and goaltenders, and all three agreed that two Edmonton Oilers should be on the roster: Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard.

McDavid is a no-brainer, lock of the century, to make the team, and he showed out with big performances in his first two times competing in best-on-best tournaments. At the 4-Nations Face-Off, he scored three goals and five points in four games, including scoring the golden goal. He was electric at the Olympics, where Canada walked away with a silver medal, scoring two goals and 13 points.

All three pundits had McDavid centring the top line alongside Macklin Celebrini and Wyatt Johnston.

Bouchard, meanwhile, was snubbed from both the 4-Nations Face-Off and the Olympic team. He and rookie sensation Matthew Schaefer being left off the latter’s roster cost Canada a gold medal, Larkin wrote.

Schaefer and Bouchard should’ve made the 2026 squad, and omitting them probably cost Canada gold given it lost by a single goal without them. I don’t see Canada’s brass repeating that mistake. They need Schaefer’s mad-dash mobility and Bouchard’s booming shot – not to mention the fact both guys play strong defensive hockey even if they don’t do it in the classic meat-and-potatoes way.

Larkin pencilled in Bouchard alongside the New York Islanders’ Schaefer on the second pair, while Maxwell had Bouchard with Winnipeg Jets blue liner Josh Morrissey on the third pair. Ellis had Bouchard with Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Shea Theodore on the third pair.

There was one other Oilers player who got mentioned as a player under consideration: Zach Hyman. Much like Bouchard, he had been left off both the 4-Nations Face-Off and Olympic teams, despite his play showing he should’ve made it.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor and The Nation Network’s news director. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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