It’s still a few years out, but the conversation around Canada’s 2028 World Cup of Hockey roster is already taking shape - and two Edmonton Oilers keep popping up in the mix.
In Daily Faceoff’s projections, Steven Ellis, Scott Maxwell and Matt Larkin each laid out their Canadian forwards, defencemen and goaltenders, and all three landed on the same pair of Oilers: Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard.
McDavid, of course, is the easy call. He was a force in his first two best-on-best appearances, and the numbers back it up.
At the 4-Nations Face-Off, he put up three goals and five points in four games and scored the golden goal. At the Olympics, where Canada took silver, he finished with two goals and 13 points.
All three projections had him in the same spot, centring the top line with Macklin Celebrini and Wyatt Johnston.
Bouchard’s case is a little different, but just as compelling. He was left off both the 4-Nations Face-Off roster and the Olympic team, and Larkin argued that omission mattered. He wrote that Bouchard and rookie sensation Matthew Schaefer should have been on the 2026 squad, and that leaving them out likely cost Canada gold in a one-goal loss.
Larkin was especially direct about what Canada missed. “Schaefer and Bouchard should’ve made the 2026 squad, and omitting them probably cost Canada gold given it lost by a single goal without them.
I don’t see Canada’s brass repeating that mistake. They need Schaefer’s mad-dash mobility and Bouchard’s booming shot - not to mention the fact both guys play strong defensive hockey even if they don’t do it in the classic meat-and-potatoes way.”
The three projections split on where Bouchard would fit on the blue line. Larkin paired him with Schaefer on the second pair, Maxwell put him with Winnipeg Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey on the third pair, and Ellis matched him with Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Shea Theodore on the third pair.
There was one more Oilers name in the discussion, too. Zach Hyman was mentioned as a player under consideration, with the same note attached to him as Bouchard: he had been left off both the 4-Nations Face-Off and Olympic teams, even though his play suggested he should have been there.
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