Team Canada is having their last practice before their first Olympic match against Czechia tomorrow, and they are making some small changes to their team lineup.
Canada showed their player groups during their first practice, but the next one was closed to the press. Today, they opened this last practice to everyone again, and the coaches made a few adjustments.
Team Canada revealed their modified lineup before the Olympic match in Milan.
Per @sportsnetkyle at Canada practice
McDavid still with Celebrini & Wilson
Crosby still with Marner & Stone
MacKinnon between Hagel & Reinhart
Horvat between Marchand & Suzuki— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 11, 2026
As reported by NHL insiders at practice, the forward lines for Canada have been changed to these new pairings:
Connor McDavid is still playing with Macklin Celebrini and Tom Wilson, and Sidney Crosby keeps his line with Mitch Marner and Mark Stone.
Brandon Hagel and Sam Reinhart have been moved up to play with Nathan MacKinnon on what looks like the second line. They were on the fourth line before.
Now Kuemper has gone down to the other end.. so.. 🤷‍♂️ https://t.co/KCRCsqM49A
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) February 11, 2026
Brad Marchand and Nick Suzuki have been dropped down to the new fourth line with Bo Horvat as the center. All the defense pairings stayed the same as in their first practice.
He did confirm there would be two different guys in net for the first two games. Not a shock https://t.co/Lbo5Oz9QEp
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) February 11, 2026
One big choice Canada has to make for this year’s Olympics is about their goalies, and hints are starting to show up.
Canada picked Jordan Binnington because he has experience from the 4 Nations Faceoff, even though he has been one of the least effective goalies in the NHL this season, with a . 864 save percentage. It’s a bit confusing why Canada is sticking with Binnington, but it looks like they are.
Binnington was in one of the starting goalie positions during practice, while Darcy Kuemper was in the other. Coach Jon Cooper told reporters that they will use two different starters for the first two games, probably Binnington and Kuemper.
Even though Team Canada can still win with either goalie, if they go with Binnington and Kuemper, they will be missing out on their best goalie. Logan Thompson has the top NHL stats among the three goalies, with an impressive . 912 save percentage this year. Not giving him a shot would be a mistake.
We will find out how the entire team lineup looks for tomorrow’s game against Czechia at 8:40 AM, MST.
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