Two pieces of news came out today from the Olympics that Oilers fans will find interesting, with one update coming from Team Canada and the other from Team Czechia.
Team Canada made a surprising choice by picking Jordan Binnington to play in Game 1 of the tournament, even though he has been one of the least effective NHL goalies this season. However, he did well and kept a clean sheet against Czechia. Still, Canada plans to make a switch.
Team Canada is expected to have Logan Thompson start against Switzerland.
Thompson didn’t skate yesterday and backed up last night. Only pucks he would have seen in 48 hours would have been warmup last night.
Seems to be taking it easy here so far, morning skate style work with goalie coach David Alexander. If he’s starting tonight not surprising… https://t.co/GznFrFlshD
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) February 13, 2026
Sources close to the NHL at the Olympics said that Logan Thompson was the only Canadian player to practice on the ice during the “morning skate” today. It looked like practice was just for him, meaning he is likely to start today’s game against Switzerland.
Based on how goalies performed in the NHL this season, Thompson is the best goalie on Canada’s team. He has the highest save percentage among Canadian goalies with a strong . 912.
Darcy Kuemper is another good choice for Team Canada to play goal, but right now, it seems like Thompson and Binnington are the top two picks for Coach Jon Cooper.
Czechia makes three changes vs France:
Dostal does not dress; Jiri Tichacek & Filip Chlapik replace Jan Rutta & David Tomasek
Antoine Keller, who faced Switzerland yesterday, is not in the lineup for the French
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 13, 2026
In another update for Oilers fans, former Oiler David Tomasek has been taken out of Czechia’s lineup for today’s match against France.
Tomasek joined the Oilers last offseason and started this NHL season on Edmonton’s top line with Connor McDavid. Unfortunately, he gradually moved down the lineup and started missing games frequently.
After he got 5 points in 22 games, Tomasek chose to end his contract and go back to the Czech league, where he has been doing well again. It’s surprising to see a player who played in the NHL this season removed from Czechia’s lineup.
Team Canada will play against Switzerland today at 1:10 MST.
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