NBC Sports NHL analyst Pierre McGuire‘s early U.S. Olympic roster prediction for the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, now that the NHL and NHLPA are one step closer to participating after skipping PyeongChang 2018 ...
Goalies
Ben Bishop (Dallas Stars, 33)
John Gibson (Anaheim Ducks, 26)
Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets, 27)
Also in the hunt: Spencer Knight (Boston College, 19)
OlympicTalk notes: All of these men would be Olympic rookies. Knight would be the youngest U.S. Olympic male hockey player in the NHL era, breaking defenseman Bryan Berard‘s record from 1998. If the U.S. wants some Olympic experience on the team, it could look at 2014 starter Jonathan Quick, who is still the Los Angeles Kings’ No. 1 but has battled injuries since Sochi.
Defensemen
John Carlson (Washington Capitals, 30)
Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks, 20)
Seth Jones (Columbus Blue Jackets, 25)
Torey Krug (Boston Bruins, 29)
Charlie McAvoy (Boston Bruins, 22)
Ryan McDonagh (Tampa Bay Lightning, 31)
Jaccob Slavin (Carolina Hurricanes, 26)
Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets, 22)
Also in the hunt: Brandon Carlo (Boston Bruins, 23), Adam Fox (New York Rangers, 22), Ryan Suter (Minnesota Wild, 35), Jacob Trouba (New York Rangers, 26)
OlympicTalk notes: Carlson, McDonagh and Suter have Olympic experience. Carlson was the lone U.S. defenseman in the top seven of NHL All-Star voting at the end of the 2018-19 season. Carlson, Jones, Slavin and Hughes were in the 2020 All-Star Game.
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Forwards
Brock Boeser (Vancouver Canucks, 23)
Kyle Connor (Winnipeg Jets, 23)
Jack Eichel (Buffalo Sabres, 23)
Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames, 26)
Jake Guentzel (Pittsburgh Penguins, 25)
Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks, 31)
Chris Kreider (New York Rangers, 29)
Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings, 23)
Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs, 22)
J.T. Miller (Vancouver Canucks, 27)
Max Pacioretty (Vegas Golden Knights, 31)
Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators, 20)
Matt Tkachuk (Calgary Flames, 22)
Blake Wheeler (Winnipeg Jets, 33)
Also in the hunt: Alex DeBrincat (Chicago Blackhawks, 22), Anders Lee (New York Islanders, 30), T.J. Oshie (Washington Capitals, 33), Bryan Rust (Pittsburgh Penguins, 28)
OlympicTalk notes: Kane, Wheeler, Pacioretty and Oshie have Olympic experience, but the top lines will be filled with Olympic rookies. No American forwards were in the top 11 of NHL All-Star voting at the end of the 2018-19 season, but Kane, Matthews and Eichel ranked Nos. 8, 9 and 10 in points this season.
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