Alberts Smits
Birthday: December 2, 2007
The youngest player at the Olympic tournament will be the freshly turned eighteen-year-old Latvian hockey prodigy, who is projected to be a top-10 pick in the upcoming NHL draft. Born in Valmiera, he has been playing in Finland for some time, and after stints with Karhu-Kissat youth teams, he moved to Jukurit ahead of the 2024-2025 season.
Last season, he appeared in nine Liiga games, and this year, he recorded six goals and six assists in 29 games. At the U20 World Championship, he collected five points (one goal, four assists). Smits will become the eighteenth player since 1928 to play at the Olympics in his pre-draft season, and the first since the last Games, when Simon Nemec and Juraj Slafkovsky were in the same position.
Macklin Celebrini
Birthday: June 13, 2006
The nineteen-year-old first overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft has already shown in his rookie season that he’s destined to be a new superstar, racking up 63 points. But his second year has exceeded all expectations, as he’s keeping pace with the league’s elite. In 43 games, Celebrini has posted an impressive 24 goals and 43 assists, putting him on track for a 120-point season.
He wears the “A” for the Sharks, and his impact is clear—he leads the team in scoring by a massive 37-point margin over the next best, Wennberg. When Canada was assembling its Olympic roster, Celebrini was simply impossible to overlook. He will become the youngest player ever to represent the maple leaf at the Olympics.
Eriks Mateiko
Birthday: November 18, 2005
The six-foot-five (195cm) giant was selected by the Washington Capitals in the third round (90th overall) of the 2024 NHL draft. After playing in the QMJHL, where he captained Saint John, he now suits up for the Hershey Bears in the AHL. So far, he’s tallied five points (one goal, four assists) in 25 games.
This will be Mateiko’s first appearance at the senior international level, having previously represented Latvia at the U18 and U20 World Championships. Latvia boasts two representatives among the five youngest players at the tournament, and their squad has played a combined 64 Olympic games—the highest total among all participants.
Martin Neckar
Birthday: September 12, 2005
A relatively unknown goaltender, Neckar has been playing in Switzerland for some time, but has yet to make an appearance in the NHL. Currently, he’s the starting goalie for Chur in the lower-tier SL, where his stats are excellent—he allows just 1.92 goals per game and boasts a .932% save percentage. At the Olympics, he’s expected to be France’s third choice behind Julian Junca and Antoine Keller (Capitals).
Neckar was born in Dijon, France, where his father Frantisek was playing at the time, so the talented netminder has Czech roots. Since he’s been in Switzerland for years, he also holds a status that allows him to be considered a domestic player in Swiss leagues.
Oscar Fisker Molgaard
Birthday: February 18, 2005
The Danish forward was drafted by Seattle in 2023, going 52nd overall in the second round. A product of Frederikshavn, he moved to Sweden’s HV71 as a junior. He gradually worked his way up to the first team, playing three full seasons in the prestigious SHL before heading to North America.
This season, he has been a key player for the Kraken's AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, with six goals and 12 assists in 30 games. He has only played twice for the Kraken this year, in November, picking up one assist. Despite his youth, Molgaard has a solid international resume—he’s played at the U20 World Championship four times, twice at the U18s, and has already appeared at the senior World Championship three times, most recently posting one goal and six assists.