The 2026 Winter Olympics are abuzz in beautiful Italy with athletes from across the globe converging for the Milano Cortina festivities. The ice events are taking place in Milan, where the stage is set for puck drop when the men’s hockey tournament begins on February 11 stateside. There’s an added twist to the event in this edition of the Games, though, with players from the National Hockey League allowed on national rosters for the first time since the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
We’re breaking down the top betting picks on DraftKings Sportsbook for a variety of markets surrounding the tournament. Here, we’ll take a look at the best player futures for men’s hockey in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Men’s hockey player futures for 2026 Winter Olympics
There’s a ton to talk about regarding the men’s hockey tournament, so for a breakdown of the full 12-team field and the odds of each nation to bring home the gold medal, check out this article. Likewise, head to this one for a look at the odds and best bets to win each of the three groups.
With that out of the way, it’s time to dive into the player futures markets. These operate much like traditional player futures in any other sports league — bettors can take any individual to lead the tournament or their team in a stat category like points/goals/assists, to record a certain amount of a particular stat, or to notch a hat trick, etc. There are plenty of options here, so where can bettors find reliable picks or the best value?
Team USA top point scorer: Jack Eichel (+600)
There aren’t many better picks to lead their team in scoring than Jack Eichel for the United States. The Vegas Golden Knights’ center sits tied for ninth in the NHL in points with 68 in 50 games, making him the top-scoring American in the entire league. Granted, that comes by a two-point margin with Jason Robertson the next-closest American skater, but the Dallas Stars’ winger was left off the national team due to myriad reasons — a lack of checking according to Team USA GM Bill Guerin, or possibly his decision years ago to forgo American development leagues for the Canadian OHL — but that’s beside the point here. The point we do want to make is that Eichel racks them up with 1.36 per game in the NHL, logging 47 assists to go along with 21 goals for the Golden Knights. While his shooting percentage of 11.2% isn’t hyper-efficient, he does play an aggressive style, putting up 3.74 shots per game and moving the puck quite well as one of the league’s top playmakers. He’ll also see plenty of time on ice with fellow first-liners Brady and Matthew Tkachuk on either wing, who he notched four points in four games playing alongside in four games during the 4 Nations Face-Off — second-most among the Americans. This is a bet on both talent and TOI.
Team Canada top point scorer: Macklin Celebrini (+1400)
Well, the two best players in the world suit up for Team Canada in this tournament. Surely we’re picking one of Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon, who sit first and second in the NHL with 96 and 93 points this season, right? Wrong. We’re not taking the Edmonton Oilers or Colorado Avalanche superstars to lead the Canadians in points during these Winter Olympics because they hold +270 and +330 odds in this futures market. Instead, we’re looking toward 19-year-old youngster Macklin Celebrini, a newcomer to the big-boy Canadian squad with the rest of the grown-ups. With 81 points across 55 games for the San Jose Sharks — who don’t have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to surrounding talent — the young superstar sits fourth in the league in scoring. He’s 10 points behind the third-place Nikita Kucherov and a point ahead of Leon Draisaitl… that’s elite company, yeah? Is it likely that a teenager leads the favorites to win gold in points? Not particularly, which is why he’s listed at +1400 odds with three other skaters behind the top-four guys. However, Celebrini makes magic happen every time he touches the ice and will play next to McDavid and Tom Wilson (who is admittedly less exciting than his counterparts). With a first-line role next to one of the best players to ever take the ice in the history of the sport, the young star could showcase exactly why he’s been chosen to represent Canada at this age and makes for a fantastic longer pick.
Team Sweden top point scorer: Rasmus Dahlin (+600)
The first games of the men’s tournament did take place today, giving us a look at the Swedish group to kick off the Winter Olympic schedule. The Swedes faced some less-than-stellar competition in Italy, which challenged them for the first period-and-a-half before busting the game open past the midway point. Here’s a wild stat — the game finished with 60 SOG for Sweden compared to just 22 for the Italians, and the discrepancies at at 34-6 with 10 minutes to go in the second period. The leading scorer for the Swedes was defenseman Rasmus Dahlin with three assists, and despite that hot start, he’s still listed at just +600 to lead the team over the full tournament. The defensive pairings appeared quite active, and Dahlin will surely see plenty of action at the top alongside Gustav Forsling. Team Sweden looks formidable and Dahlin already has a leg up, so this feels like pretty great value for a guy who sits seventh among NHL defensemen and third among all Swedes in the league with 48 points for the Buffalo Sabres.
Tournament points: Auston Matthews under 6.5 (-125)
The urge to put a top point scorer pick for Team Finland in this article to round out the bunch was tempting, but even though their five starting skaters should have excellent chemistry given that all were teammates on the Dallas Stars last year, the group came out pretty flat in a 4-1 loss to Slovakia in the opening matchup. Instead, we’re going with a bonus bet here. Unfortunately for the Americans, fading captain Auston Matthews feels like a prudent move in this spot. He scored three points across three games during the 4 Nations Face-Off last year and still finds himself anchoring the second line at center, but there are concerns the 28-year-old still isn’t himself this season. Yes, he’s notched 48 points in 51 NHL games for a struggling Toronto Maple Leafs squad and has 26 goals, but the clips of him getting left in the dust by some of the league’s faster skaters should cause a little bit of trepidation in this tournament. The former Hart Memorial Trophy winner is a talented player and may still look good with more to play for on the Olympic stage, but a fade still makes sense to an extent here.
Visit DraftKings Sportsbook to take your pick on men’s ice hockey along with the rest of the 2026 Winter Olympics!
