As we reach the final day of the preliminary round of the 2026 Olympic men's hockey tournament it’s time to take stock of how the Winnipeg Jets players are doing. There have been a few interesting results so far, like Slovakia earning an inside track at a bye to the quarterfinals, but for the most part the results have been as expected. That is, except for how the Jets' tournament has turned out. What started out as a group of 4 is down to 3, 2 of the forwards don’t have any points, and the netminder has only played in 1 game.
Josh Morrissey
Certainly the biggest surprise of the tournament has been the injury to Josh Morrissey. He played a little more than one period against Czechia in Canada’s 5-0 opening win. Head coach Jon Cooper sat him out in game 2 against Switzerland and his return date remains unknown. Team Canada has kept the injury news close to the vest but they haven’t missed a beat without Morrissey. With the depth of team Canada they can afford to lose a star, even with the skillset Josh has, and keep churning out results. Unlike their medal favourite counterparts Sweden and USA, team Canada hasn’t really felt uncomfortable in their first two games. If they can get Morrissey back in the lineup they’ll be that much more dangerous leading up to the medal rounds.
Nino Niederreiter
Team Switzerland is looking to finish just outside of the top 4 seeds and earn a playoff matchup with France, Italy, or Denmark. Niederreiter has yet to find the score sheet but has played better than zeros on the board would suggest. He missed a golden opportunity early in the first period against Canada and had another chance late in the period but the Swiss ultimately fell 5-1. Niederreiter is getting to the right places but, especially against team Canada, the mismatches in competition are making it hard to bury one. Team Switzerland will have an uphill battle after losing Kevin Fiala to a hit from Tom Wilson. One of the best Swiss players will not only miss the rest of the tournament but the remainder of the season with the Los Angeles Kings, who are vying for a playoff spot. Switzerland finished their Group A play with a 4-3 overtime thriller over Czechia.
Kyle Connor
Team USA has yet to hit their stride and had a scare going into the third period up 4-3 against Denmark after trailing in the first. One of the Americans not performing up to their desired standards would be Kyle Connor. Yet to register a point, Connor saw less than 10 minutes of ice time against the Danes. Playing on a line with Dylan Larkin and Tage Thompson, the trio has created chances but not enough for head coach Mike Sullivan to use them more often. Sullivan scratched Connor in the 4 Nations final last year and a similar result could take place if the Michigan native fails to find a groove heading into the quarterfinals. Connor should have a chip on his shoulder going into team USA’s final Group C game against Germany.
Connor Hellebuyck
One of the reasons the Americans initially struggled against Denmark seemed to be the goalie rotation and moving away from Connor Hellebuyck for game 2. Hellebuyck made 17 saves in team USA’s opening victory against Latvia but the plan was likely always to give him a rest in one of the back-to-back games over the weekend. Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman was between the pipes to take on the Danes and gave up 2 questionable goals, including one from the red line. While an inconsistent attack plagued the Americans early, the shakiness in goal didn’t help their cause. Hellebuyck is likely to have the net for the remainder of the tournament which will bolster team USA’s hopes of a showdown with Canada in the gold medal game. He’ll be needed soon as many projections have the US going up against Sweden in the quarterfinals.
Just one more week of Olympic Jets hockey left but the best action is just getting started.