Team USA’s men’s Olympic hockey roster won’t be revealed until Friday, but ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports it will feature at least three new names from the 4 Nations Face-Off team.
Kaplan reports that Utah Mammoth forward Clayton Keller, Buffalo Sabres centre Tage Thompson and Florida Panthers defenceman Seth Jones have all been selected after missing out on the 4 Nations team in February.
Keller, 27, has 12 goals and 33 points in 40 games this season with the Mammoth. He has topped the 30-goal mark in each of the past three seasons.
Thompson scored the winning goal to help the United States win gold at the World Hockey Championship this past spring. The 28-year-old has 18 goals and 34 points in 38 games this season after scoring 44 goals last year to top the 40-goal mark for the second time in three seasons.
Jones was moved from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Panthers last winter in a move that seemed to reignite his career. The 31-year-old was a key contributor as the Panthers repeated as Stanley Cup champions, posting four goals and nine points in 23 playoff games. He has six goals and 24 points in 39 games this season.
Hearing Clayton Keller, Tage Thompson and Seth Jones were named to the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team – all adds from Four Nations.
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) December 31, 2025
Team USA general manager Bill Guerin was set to inform the team’s cuts that they did not make the team on Wednesday.
Guerin has consistently set a tone for Team USA that the goal is to win gold this winter and end a best-on-best drought that dates back to 1996, when Guerin was a forward on the World Cup of Hockey team that last claimed a trophy for the country.
The United States has silver medals from Vancouver 2010 and Salt Lake City 2002, in addition to February’s 4 Nations Face-Off, falling to Canada in the final of each of those events.
Guerin has been steadfast in his mission to build a complete roster over an All-Star team and put a focus on checking and size after the tight playing style he witnessed at the 4 Nations.
He acknowledged his roster will undoubtedly be met with criticism as he faces tough roster choices on players such as Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson, and Montreal Canadiens stars Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson, who was notably omitted from the team’s orientation camp this summer.
“Listen, I make my decisions and I move ahead,” Guerin told The Athletic. “I don’t care what people say on social media. I don’t care what the experts say. All I care about is the team. I have a job to do, I’m doing it to the best of my ability. If I’m right, I’m right. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong, and we think we have put together the best team we can to help bring us a gold medal.”
The United States previously named forwards Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk, along with defencemen Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy to its roster as their first six in the summer. Hughes was forced to miss the entire 4 Nations Face-Off due to injury, while McAvoy exited the tournament with an injury after two games.
Team USA will play Latvia in their Olympic opener Feb. 12 followed by Denmark and Germany on Feb. 14 and 15, respectively in Group C. All 12 teams will be ranked after the preliminary round with the group winners and the second-place team with the best record qualifying for the quarter-finals directly and the other eight teams playing a qualification round to advance.