The New Jersey Devils have been well represented at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. They’ve sent seven players to the event, and each has a pretty sizeable role on their teams. Well, at least that’s how it appeared going into the event. Now that we’re through the round-robin portion of men’s hockey at the Olympics, we know the seeding of each team.
Canada secured the number-one seed despite the Americans having the easiest route to it. A few teams ended up disappointing, such as Sweden and Czechia. When it comes to the Devils, there is a pretty clear split between players who are playing incredibly well and those who have been a disappointment in Milan.
When looking at the rankings, we look beyond the stat sheets. The bottom four teams are very much worse than the top eight, so players can stack the sheets in those games. With three games behind us and the knockout round upcoming, where do the seven Devils players rank?
1. Timo Meier
Team Switzerland
It appears that March Meier showed up for Switzerland early. He’s been incredible, scoring three goals and adding an assist in three games to start the tournament. He scored two goals in the opening game against France and added another in Switzerland's overtime win over Czechia. He directly helped his team get the five seed in this next round. That’s important because it means they just need to play an overmatched Italy team in the qualifying round, and with a win, would take on a strangely mediocre Finland team. Meier’s play has set up Switzerland to play in the medal round.
2. Simon Nemec
Team Slovakia
Simon Nemec has been great in the Olympics this year. Yes, he’s made some of his typical mistakes on the defensive side, but he’s been an offensive juggernaut. Much of the discussion around Slovakia surprisingly winning Group B was around Juraj Slafkovsky, and deservedly so. He’s been one of the best players in the tournament, but by many metrics, Nemec has been the best offensive defenseman at the Olympics. He has two primary assists and a ton more shot chances and shot assists. He’s been playing on the top line, which is a huge responsibility for a 21-year-old.
3. Jack Hughes
Team USA
Jack Hughes came into this tournament with a small role on Team USA, but his line has been playing so well that coach Mike Sullivan has elevated them to third-line minutes. Jack Hughes and Brock Nelson have been incredible this entire tournament. Hughes was especially good in the United States’ second game. Against Latvia, Hughes scored the sixth goal of the game, which officially put the game out of reach. Hughes wasn’t noticeable in the game against Germany outside of running into Auston Matthews in the first period, but he wasn’t needed in what ended up being a blowout.
4. Nico Hischier
Team Switzerland
Nico Hischier has been quiet for Switzerland. He has one assist in three games. More is needed from him if the Swiss are going to survive into the medal round, but he’s done enough off the score sheet to get Switzerland to the five seed. Hischier does have five shots on goal, tied with Meier for the team lead. One would expect one of the next few shots to get past the goalie. For now, he can continue to be the top center and leader among the forwards.
5. Jonas Siegenthaler
Team Switzerland
Jonas Siegenthaler has been ho-hum this Olympics. He’s been playing on the second line for Switzerland next to Dean Kukan. He has taken four shots, which is unlike him. He’s there to play a defensive game with just a little style and flair. He’s playing behind Roman Josi, and he’s a -1 during the tournament. If he can step it up a little more, Switzerland would be in a better place.
6. Jesper Bratt
Team Sweden
Jesper Bratt had an amazing start to his Olympics, but it quickly went to hell. In the second game of the tournament, Bratt was de-prioritized in the third period, and he was outright benched in their third game against Slovakia. Now, he’s sitting on just one assist in three games (despite never touching the ice in the third game). We have no idea how the Swedish coaching staff will use Bratt moving forward, but the way he’s been used so far has been downright awful. He went from a top-line forward to not worth playing.
7. Jacob Markstrom
Team Sweden
Things in Sweden are not going well for the Devils. Markstrom got one game in net, and he won, but the way in which he won actually ruined Sweden’s chances at winning the group. He allowed a goal to Slovakia with less than a minute left. On paper, a goal that makes the game 5-3 instead of 5-2 doesn’t matter, but this goal did matter. It pushed Sweden out of the running for the one seed in Group B because of goal differential. We don’t expect to see Markstrom again for the rest of the tournament.