Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews gets early spot on U.S. Olympic team
The Toronto Maple Leafs 'Captain America' will be part of the United States' bid for an Olympic title.
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Auston Matthews, denied his chance to win the 4 Nations Face-Off final this past February in a showdown with Canada, was among the six Yanks named to their preliminary roster on Monday for the 2026 Games in Milano-Cortina.
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At the 4 Nations, Matthews showed little sign of a suspected back injury he played through 2024-25 with and has said he intends to be 100% healthy for whatever comes next season.
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He'll be joined by the scrappy Tkachuk brothers, Matthew (now competing for a Stanley Cup with Florida) and Brady of the Ottawa Senators.
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Also revealed were defencemen Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks and Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins, with Vegas star Jack Eichel joining Matthews and the brothers up front.
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Matthew Tkachuk and McAvoy both were hurt during the 4 Nations tournament, while Brady did join his brother in the penalty box in a notorious rough-and-tumble start to a game against Canada in the round-robin group stage.
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'We've seen the unprecedented success of our U.S. teams on the international stage this past season,' American general manager Bill Guerin said of winning the world championship in Sweden last month. 'We need to keep our foot on the gas.
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'We haven't won an Olympic gold in men's hockey since 1980 and we're out to change that.'
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