2026 Olympic Men’s Hockey: Top standouts from Canada vs. Czechia
Canada entered Thursday’s affair having not lost an Olympic hockey game with NHLers since 2010 – and that didn’t change tonight. The Canadians set the pace in their Olympic opener, beating Czechia 5-0 to open Group A play.
Both teams will head back into game action on Friday with little room to rest. The Czechs will take on France at 10:40 AM ET, while Canada will face Switzerland to close out the third day of Olympic action in Milano.
The first period was a high-energy affair, with both teams trading 11 shots. But the final shot for Canada in the first – Cale Makar’s – was tipped by Macklin Celebrini to take any momentum the Czechs would have had heading into the first intermission. Canada looked much stronger in the second period, with both Mark Stone and Bo Horvat finding the back of the net to make it 3-0 heading into the final break. Nathan MacKinnon would score the lone goal of the third period to cap off a dominant effort from the Canadians.
Here’s a look at the top performers from Thursday afternoon:
Canada
#50 Jordan Binnington, G (St. Louis Blues): For all the talk about Canada’s goaltending, Binnington looked good again. It’s almost like having a D group that includes a couple of top 10 blueliners is better than what St. Louis offers him every night. Binnington looked a bit floppy early in the game – just like he did at the 4 Nations Face-Off – but seemed dialed in midway through the first and never relented. He just shows up when the games matter.
#8 Cale Makar, D (Colorado Avalanche): Makar looked a bit banged up in the first period, and then dominated the rest of the way. His speed and skill with the puck were unmatched on the attack, with Makar getting a couple of looks in the first period alone. Makar was given an assist on the late first-period goal after his shot bounced off Celebrini and in for the 1-0 goal.
#20 Thomas Harley, D (Dallas Stars): Harley was a late addition to Canada’s 4 Nations team a year ago. A slow start, plus an injury, could have easily derailed Harley’s season, but he looked excellent in this one. He played a lot, was strong defensively and killed a lot of plays. He skates with a ton of confidence, too. Harley might not have the big-name value of someone like Makar, but his impact is huge – and that assist on the 5-0 goal was nice.
#17 Macklin Celebrini, LW (San Jose Sharks): Celebrini is as smart as they come. Whether Canada needs him to get in front of the net to create havoc (and ultimately score) or to help out defensively, Celebrini never seems out of place or lacking a competitive edge. It was great seeing him score his first career goal at such a young age – he’s a leader, even though he’s the youngest player on the team.
#93 Mitch Marner, RW (Vegas Golden Knights): Marner played well with a leaf on his chest, huh? The entire third line played so well for Canada, but Marner was a big reason why. He’s an incredible playmaker, and it showed when he dove over a Czech defender to get the puck to Mark Stone to make it 2-0. Marner has been criticized for his play in the playoffs the past few years, but has looked good in his limited Canadian national team action the past two years.
#97 Connor McDavid, C (Edmonton Oilers): He’s good, isn’t he? It doesn’t matter who McDavid plays against; he can find chemistry with anyone. Having someone who thinks like Celebrini doesn’t hurt. McDavid finished the night with three assists, and should have had a couple more. But he got absolutely robbed – twice – by Dostal in the second period. His speed, skill and hockey sense are going to be absolutely killed the rest of the way.
Czechia
#48 Tomas Hertl, C (Vegas Golden Knights): It felt like Hertl was a bit gassed at points, but for good reason. He was hustling hard all game long, and maybe more than he should have had to. The hard-working, skilled forward had a few solid looks in the first half of this one, but nothing materialized. Hertl had one of the best chances for Czechia in this one early in the third, but his shot was ultimately stopped.
#73 Ondřej Kaše, RW: Once a promising NHLer, repeated health issues prevented Kaše from excelling in the NHL. But back home, he’s been a highly productive forward the past few years, something the Czechs realized at the 2024 World Championship. He had some good opportunities while the game remained tied, and it felt like he was one of the few forwards who continued to battle hard, even when the game started to get out of hand.
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