On Friday, almost every country announced their rosters for the 2026 Winter Olympics. There weren’t many surprises. Jack Hughes made Team USA despite recently returning from his injury. That was clearly never in doubt since he was on the Today Show to help announce the team. Jacob Markstrom made Sweden over Linus Ullmark to be the veteran on that squad. Simon Nemec was named to the Slovakian team despite his current injury.
Everyone else was pretty much a lock. In all, the New Jersey Devils have eight representatives going to Milan, Italy in February. Only two other teams in the NHL have more representatives.
Confirmed Olympians per NHL team:
— Big Head Hockey (@bigheadhockey) January 2, 2026
9 players | Florida Panthers
9 players | Tampa Bay Lightning
8 players | Colorado Avalanche
8 players | Minnesota Wild
8 players | New Jersey Devils
6 players | Boston Bruins
6 players | Dallas Stars
6 players | Vegas Golden Knights
5… pic.twitter.com/FbYmhJMeIG
The two teams with more international representation in 2026 are ironically the two Florida Teams: the Panthers and Lightning. Both those teams are star-studded and have been winning Stanley Cups in bunches this century. That’s with the Lightning losing the chance to have Andrei Vasilevskiy represent his country since Russia is not going to this year’s Olympics.
The Devils are tied with the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche, rounding out the top five representing teams with eight players each.
The full list of New Jersey Devils Olympic representatives are below:
Team USA
Jack Hughes
Sweden
Jesper Bratt
Jacob Markstrom
Switzerland
Nico Hischier
Timo Meier
Jonas Siegenthaler
Slovakia
Simon Nemec
Czechia
Ondrej Palat
It's impressive that the Devils are so well represented. It comes from a few different philosophies. The Devils haven't focused as much at getting high-valued Canadian players, which allows their stars to avoid that competition. They also prioritize skill, which is important during the Olympic Games.
With so many players going to the Olympics, it’s a double-edged sword. The Devils have been one of the most injured teams in the NHL this season, so most teams getting their stars a break before the path to the playoffs might be good. On the other hand, the Devils players get to stay fresh for the stretch run.
Also, there’s a level of motivation that comes from international competition. The winner of the gold medal will have the confidence to be a world beater, quite literally. Those who lost will have even more to prove.
The priority from a Devils standpoint is keeping everyone healthy. The competition is going to be fierce, but they got out of the 4 Nations Face-Off last year without any major injuries. If a team this talented can do the same in 2026, then the Olympics will be a success overall.