Yet another Pittsburgh Penguins player will compete in the 2026 Milan Olympics. Penguins center Lars Eller captained Denmark to successful qualification for the games when his team beat Norway 4-1 Sunday at Aalborg Arena in Aalborg, Denmark.
Denmark, Latvia, and Slovakia filled the qualifier spots.
Eller, 35, led the Denmark roster, which included several NHL players, including Ottawa Senators defenseman Nick Jensen, Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers, Vegas Golden Knights winger Jonas Rondbjerg, and goalie Frederick Andersen.
Eller had two goals and two assists in the three-game qualifier, tying with Ehlers and Nicholas Jensen as the team’s leading scorers. However, Ehler may not be a Penguins player in 2026, as his current contract expires after this season. Last season, he scored 15 goals with 31 points in 82 games for the Penguins.
Sidney Crosby and Erik Karlsson have already been named to Team Canada and Sweden, respectively. Several more Penguins players could play in the games, including Russian Evgeni Malkin, American Bryan Rust, and Swedes Marcus Pettersson and Rickard Rakell.
Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan will coach Team USA. Penguins assistant coach David Quinn will join Sullivan’s USA staff.
Denmark won the four-team tournament with Great Britain, Norway, and Japan to claim the final spot among the 12 teams that will compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
2026 Olympic Tournament
Group A: Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy
Group B: Finland, Germany, Czechia, Denmark
Group C: Russia, U.S., Latvia, Slovakia
*The IIHF has yet to clear Russia to participate in the games. The sanctioning body suspended Russia and Belarus from all IIHF-sanctioned events for 2024-25 because of the Ukrainian invasion. Last October, the IIHF ruled that Russia could be in the same division as the United States if the IIHF clears the country for participation. The IIHF will decide to deny or allow Team Russia’s participation in February or March of 2025.
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