Olympic Outlook: Guentzel In, McDonagh Fighting for Spot
Tampa Bay Lightning veteran players Jake Guentzel and Ryan McDonagh are on opposite spectrums when it comes to the construction of the 2026 United States Olympic hockey squad.
The 30-year-old Guentzel is viewed by many as a lock to make the team, which will open play in Milano, Italy, on February 12 against Latvia. However, the same cannot be said for McDonagh.
“We keep that buy-in mentality,” McDonagh said of the theme to last season’s Lightning squad. “We have a great attitude of showing up, coming to work every day, accepting your role, and doing whatever you can to help the team win.”
In other words, every trait that the American players will need to make the Olympic squad and have success.
McDonagh will be competing with 15 other defensemen for probably eight spots on the final roster, and that journey began Tuesday and culminated Wednesday at the USA Olympic Hockey Orientation Camp in Plymouth, Michigan.
The two-day camp didn’t include any on-ice activity and was essentially an administrative and team-building opportunity.
The evaluation of players has been done and will continue through the first half of the NHL season, before USA General Manager Bill Guerin names his final roster in January.
That earlier assessment has to have been a positive for McDonagh, who is coming off one of the best seasons of his career.
McDonagh led the NHL in plus/minus with a plus-43. He accumulated 31 points (four goals, 27 assists), which was just one shy of his high mark for the last seven seasons. However, those aren’t the main skills that would make him appeal to the USA Olympic leadership.
“On the defensive side of things,” veteran Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said of his 2024-25 squad, “we really improved in that area.”
After reacquiring McDonagh in May 2024 following two seasons in Nashville, the Lightning improved dramatically in their defensive play.
Tampa Bay ranked 15th in the NHL in goals against (483 goals allowed) that season without McDonagh, and that number dropped to 216 (ranking fourth) this past season.
“It’s rare to be on the (NHL) Quarter Century Team with one team,” Cooper said of McDonagh, “let alone two teams. But that is (McDonagh) for you.
“He is a rare breed of warrior.”
That toughness could be what entices the USA Olympic Hockey leadership to select McDonagh, despite his being five years older than any of the other defensemen.
Of the 16 defensemen, only Seth Jones (30 years old), Brett Pesce (30), Neal Pionk (30), Brady Skjei (31), and Jacob Slavin (31) are in their 30s, besides McDonagh.
“(McDonagh) has skill,” Cooper continued. “He has brains, and he is tough as nails as a guy.
“Everybody knows that. Every teammate knows that.”
Not only can McDonagh still play at an elite level, but he also brings a wealth of experience in international hockey.
He represented the United States in the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, as well as the Men’s National Team at the IIHF Men’s World Championship in Bratislava and Kosice, Slovakia, in 2011.
McDonagh helped the Americans to a silver medal in 2007 with the Under-18 National squad at the IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship in Tampere and Rauma, Finland, and competed on the National Junior Team in 2009 at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa, Ontario.
“When you’ve been around this long,” Cooper said, “you’ve got some good qualities about you. Not only your playing ability, but also how you are as a guy.
“Mac is at the top of the list.”
