Team USA didn’t have a single player on their 4 Nations Face-Off roster who represented the country at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. It signaled a true change in the guard in American hockey, with a new crop of talent leading the way moving forward.
It remains unlikely that any veterans from the 2016 team will make the 2026 Winter Olympic roster. However, don’t count out the greatest American hockey player of all time, Patrick Kane.
All that’s left for the longtime face of USA Hockey to win is a gold medal, so he’s keen on letting his play do the talking and forcing his way onto the Olympic team come February. Kane recently spoke to NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika about his desire to don the red, white, and blue one more time.
“The one thing that’s kind of missing is a gold in best-on-best, right? It would be fun to have that opportunity… I don’t want that to be a thing, either, where you’re getting selected for the team because of all that stuff. You want to be selected for the player you are and what you can bring to the team,” Kane said.
“I didn’t really expect to make it just the way I was playing, with how many good American players there are. Definitely don’t want that to happen again where I’m in a situation where I’m not playing that great and you get left off because of that, right? There’s really no excuse for me not to have a good start,” Kane added.
Patrick Kane hoping for 1 more chance at elusive gold with U.S. at 2026 Olympics ⤵️https://t.co/PcaneOOhVi
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) August 26, 2025
The 36-year-old did have a slow start to his 2024-25 season, though he picked it up in the second half to finish with 59 points (21 goals, 38 assists) in 72 games.
Kane must start 2025-26 strong
It would be an amazing story to have Patrick Kane playing for Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Similar to Sidney Crosby on Team Canada, the old guard who still has it joins forces with the new guard on the biggest stage.
While everyone can agree on that, following through on that ask won’t be easy for Kane. The Americans possess an abundance of talented players, almost all of whom are much younger than the three-time Stanley Cup Champion.
It will all come down to how the 2025-26 season starts, because if Patrick Kane comes flying out of the gates, then he very much could find himself making a trip to Italy this winter.
