26 CHL Alumni Capture Medals at the Milano Cortina 2026
Published on February 22, 2026 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL) News Release
TORONTO, ON - Over the weekend, 26 alumni from the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) earned Olympic medals at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, with CHL graduates standing out across every level of the podium. In the gold-medal game, American forwards JT Miller (Plymouth Whalers / OHL), Matthew Tkachuk (London Knights / OHL), and Vincent Trocheck (Saginaw Spirit & Plymouth Whalers / OHL) were among the gold medalists as the United States captured its third all-time men's hockey gold medal, defeating Canada 2-1 in overtime.
Canada, powered by 21 CHL alumni, added to its record-setting history in the discipline by earning a fifth silver medal and its 17th Olympic medal overall in men's hockey - the most of any nation. On Saturday, defencemen Henri Jokiharju (Portland Winterhawks / WHL) and Olli Määttä (London Knights / OHL) also brought home hardware as part of Finland's bronze-medal squad, which secured third place with a 6-1 victory over Slovakia in the bronze-medal game.
Individually, Connor McDavid (Erie Otters / OHL) delivered a dominant Milano Cortina 2026 showing, being named the tournament's MVP, selected as the event's best forward, and earning all-star team honours. He led all scorers with 13 points (2G-11A) in six games and recorded five straight multi-point performances prior to the gold-medal game - establishing Olympic benchmarks for both most points and the longest multi-point streak (five games) in an Olympic tournament featuring NHL players.
Additional CHL storylines emerged throughout the tournament. American forward Matthew Tkachuk (London Knights / OHL, 2016) became the latest Memorial Cup champion to add Olympic gold to his résumé, while Slovakian forward Dalibor Dvorsky (Sudbury Wolves / OHL) put together a record-setting event of his own, totaling six points (3G-3A) in six games to register the most points ever by an NHL rookie in Olympic history.
With 96 CHL graduates taking part, CHL alumni accounted for more than 30% of all players competing in the men's tournament at Milano Cortina 2026 - the highest total of any development hockey league worldwide. The CHL also stood alone as the only development league to have at least one alumnus represented on each of the 12 nations in the men's field.
Canada led all countries with 21 CHL alumni, followed by Slovakia, Switzerland, and Czechia with 11 apiece. Overall, 41 Olympians developed in the OHL, 32 in the WHL, and 25 in the QMJHL, with two alumni having played in more than one Member League. In total, 54 of the CHL's 61 clubs were represented in Milano Cortina, led by the Portland Winterhawks (WHL) with seven alumni, followed by the Kitchener Rangers (OHL) and Sudbury Wolves (OHL) with six each, and the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) with five.
The CHL's Olympic impact came during its 50th anniversary season, underscored earlier this month when the league unveiled its Top 50 Players of the Last 50 Years (since 1975-76), as voted by a media panel of more than 40 members. The list included five alumni who competed at Milano Cortina 2026, highlighted by silver medalists Sidney Crosby (Rimouski Océanic / QMJHL), McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL), and Drew Doughty (Guelph Storm / OHL) with Canada, along with Leon Draisaitl (Prince Albert Raiders & Kelowna Rockets / WHL) representing Germany.
96 CHL ALUMNI COMPETED AT THE MILANO CORTINA 2026 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES
GOLD - United States (3)
(F) JT Miller (Plymouth Whalers / OHL), New York Rangers
(F) Matthew Tkachuk (London Knights / OHL), Florida Panthers
(F) Vincent Trocheck (Saginaw Spirit & Plymouth Whalers / OHL), New York Rangers
SILVER - Canada (21)
(G) Jordan Binnington (Owen Sound Attack / OHL), St. Louis Blues
(G) Darcy Kuemper (Spokane Chiefs & Red Deer Rebels / WHL), Los Angeles Kings
(G) Logan Thompson (Brandon Wheat Kings / WHL), Washington Capitals
(D) Drew Doughty (Guelph Storm / OHL), Los Angeles Kings
(D) Thomas Harley (Mississauga Steelheads / OHL), Dallas Stars
(D) Josh Morrissey (Prince Albert Raiders & Kelowna Rockets / WHL), Winnipeg Jets
(D) Travis Sanheim (Calgary Hitmen / WHL), Philadelphia Flyers
(D) Shea Theodore (Seattle Thunderbirds / WHL), Vegas Golden Knights
(F) Sam Bennett (Kingston Frontenacs / OHL), Florida Panthers
(F) Sidney Crosby (Rimouski Océanic / QMJHL), Pittsburgh Penguins
(F) Brandon Hagel (Red Deer Rebels / WHL), Tampa Bay Lightning
(F) Bo Horvat (London Knights / OHL), New York Islanders
(F) Seth Jarvis (Portland Winterhawks / WHL), Carolina Hurricanes
(F) Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL), Colorado Avalanche
(F) Brad Marchand (Moncton Wildcats, Val-d'Or Foreurs & Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL), Florida Panthers
(F) Mitch Marner (London Knights / OHL), Vegas Golden Knights
(F) Connor McDavid (Erie Otters / OHL), Edmonton Oilers
(F) Sam Reinhart (Kootenay ICE / WHL), Florida Panthers
(F) Mark Stone (Brandon Wheat Kings / WHL), Vegas Golden Knights
(F) Nick Suzuki (Owen Sound Attack & Guelph Storm / OHL), Montreal Canadiens
(F) Tom Wilson (Plymouth Whalers / OHL), Washington Capitals
BRONZE - Finland (2)
(D) Henri Jokiharju (Portland Winterhawks / WHL), Boston Bruins
(D) Olli Maatta (London Knights / OHL), Utah Mammoth
Czechia (11)
(D) Radko Gudas (Everett Silvertips / WHL), Anaheim Ducks
(D) Filip Hronek (Saginaw Spirit / OHL), Vancouver Canucks
(D) Tomas Kundratek (Medicine Hat Tigers / WHL), Oceláři Třinec
(D) David Spacek (Sherbrooke Phoenix / QMJHL), Iowa Wild
(F) Filip Chlapik (Charlottetown Islanders / QMJHL), Sparta Praha
(F) Radek Faksa (Kitchener Rangers & Sudbury Wolves / OHL), Dallas Stars
(F) Dominik Kubalik (Sudbury Wolves & Kitchener Rangers / OHL), EV Zug
(F) Ondrej Palat (Drummondville Voltigeurs / QMJHL), New York Islanders
(F) Lukas Sedlak (Chicoutimi Saguenéens / QMJHL), Dynamo Pardubice
(F) Matej Stransky (Saskatoon Blades / WHL), Davos
(F) David Tomasek (Belleville Bulls / OHL), Edmonton Oilers
Denmark (8)
(G) Mads Sogaard (Medicine Hat Tigers / WHL), Belleville Senators
(F) Mikkel Aagaard (Niagara IceDogs & Sudbury Wolves / OHL), Skelleftea
(F) Oliver Bjorkstrand (Portland Winterhawks / WHL), Tampa Bay Lightning
(F) Joachim Blichfeld (Portland Winterhawks / WHL), Tappara
(F) Nikolaj Ehlers (Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL), Carolina Hurricanes
(F) Nicklas Jensen (Oshawa Generals / OHL), Rapperswill-Jona Lakers
(F) Alexander True (Seattle Thunderbirds / WHL), JYP
(F) Christian Wejse (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada / QMJHL), Fischtown Pinguins
France (1)
(G) Antoine Keller (Acadie-Bathurst Titan / QMJHL), Ajoie
Germany (7)
(G) Philipp Grubauer (Belleville Bulls, Windsor Spitfires & Kingston Frontenacs / OHL), Seattle Kraken
(G) Mathias Niederberger (Barrie Colts / OHL), München
(D) Leon Gawanke (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles / QMJHL), Adler Mannheim
(F) Leon Draisaitl (Prince Albert Raiders & Kelowna Rockets / WHL), Edmonton Oilers
(F) Dominik Kahun (Sudbury Wolves / OHL), Lausanne
(F) Tobias Rieder (Kitchener Rangers / OHL), München
(F) Josh Samanski (Owen Sound Attack / OHL), Bakersfield Condors
Italy (9)
(D) Dylan Di Perna (Kingston Frontenacs & Kitchener Rangers / OHL), Bolzano HC
(D) Greg DiTomaso (Mississauga Steelheads, Saginaw Spirit & Barrie Colts / OHL & Gatineau Olympiques / QMJHL), Pustertal
(D) Phil Pietroniro (Shawinigan Cataractes, Val-d'Or Foreurs, Victoriaville Tigers & Gatineau Olympiques / QMJHL), Rytiri Kladno
(D) Jason Seed (Gatineau Olympiques & Saint John Sea Dogs / QMJHL), Bolzano HC
(F) Matt Bradley (Medicine Hat Tigers & Regina Pats / WHL), Bolzano HC
(F) Tommaso De Luca (Spokane Chiefs / WHL), Ambri-Piotta
(F) Cristiano DiGiacinto (Windsor Spitfires / OHL), Bolzano HC
(F) Tommy Purdeller (Peterborough Petes / OHL), Pustertal
(F) Alessandro Segafredo (Seattle Thunderbirds, Winnipeg ICE & Prince Albert Raiders / WHL), Kusnacht Lions
Latvia (9)
(G) Arturs Silovs (Barrie Colts / OHL), Pittsburgh Penguins
(D) Kristian Rubins (Medicine Hat Tigers / WHL), Plzen
(F) Rudolfs Balcers (Kamloops Blazers / WHL), ZSC Lions
(F) Rihards Bukarts (Brandon Wheat Kings & Portland Winterhawks / WHL), Presov
(F) Kaspars Daugavins (Toronto/Mississauga St. Michael's Majors / OHL), EC Kassel Huskies
(F) Martins Dzierkals (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies / QMJHL), HC Sparta Praha
(F) Renars Krastenbergs (Oshawa Generals / OHL), HC Olomouc
(F) Anri Ravinskis (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada / QMJHL), Abbotsford Canucks
(F) Sandis Vilmanis (Sarnia Sting & North Bay Battalion / OHL), Florida Panthers
Slovakia (11)
(G) Samuel Hlavaj (Sherbrooke Phoenix / QMJHL), Iowa Wild
(D) Peter Ceresnak (Peterborough Petes / OHL), HC Dynamo Pardubice
(D) Erik Cernak (Erie Otters / OHL), Tampa Bay Lightning
(D) Martin Gernat (Edmonton Oil Kings / WHL), Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
(D) Michal Ivan (Acadie-Bathurst Titan & Drummondville Voltigeurs / QMJHL), Bílí Tygri Liberec
(D) Martin Marincin (Prince George Cougars & Regina Pats / WHL), HC Ocelari Trinec
(F) Lukas Cingel (Baie-Comeau Drakkar / QMJHL), HC Kometa Brno
(F) Dalibor Dvorsky (Sudbury Wolves / OHL), St. Louis Blues
(F) Adam Liska (Kitchener Rangers / OHL), Severstal Cherepovets
(F) Oliver Okuliar (Sherbrooke Phoenix / QMJHL & Lethbridge Hurricanes / WHL), Skelleftea
(F) Adam Ruzicka (Sarnia Sting & Sudbury Wolves / OHL), Spartak Moskva
Sweden (3)
(D) Rasmus Andersson (Barrie Colts / OHL), Vegas Golden Knights
(F) Gabriel Landeskog (Kitchener Rangers / OHL), Colorado Avalanche
(F) Rickard Rakell (Plymouth Whalers / OHL), Pittsburgh Penguins
Switzerland (11)
(G) Akira Schmid (Lethbridge Hurricanes / WHL), Vegas Golden Knights
(D) Michael Fora (Kamloops Blazers / WHL), HC Davos
(D) Christian Marti (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada / QMJHL), ZSC Lions
(F) Sven Andrighetto (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies / QMJHL) ZSC Lions
(F) Nico Hischier (Halifax Mooseheads / QMJHL), New Jersey Devils
(F) Simon Knak (Portland Winterhawks / WHL), HC Davos
(F) Philipp Kurashev (Québec Remparts / QMJHL), San Jose Sharks
(F) Timo Meier (Halifax Mooseheads & Rouyn-Noranda Huskies / QMJHL), New Jersey Devils
(F) Nino Niederreiter (Portland Winterhawks / WHL), Winnipeg Jets
(F) Pius Suter (Guelph Storm / OHL), St. Louis Blues
(F) Calvin Thurkauf (Kelowna Rockets / WHL), HC Lugano
Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 22, 2026
- Kulemin Returns to the Lineup, Frontenacs Aim to Move to 7-0 against the Generals this Season - Kingston Frontenacs
- Game Day - February 22 - GUE at SAG - Guelph Storm
- Thirteen OHL Alumni Capture Medals at 2026 Olympic Winter Games - OHL
- 26 CHL Alumni Capture Medals at the Milano Cortina 2026 - OHL
- Game Preview: Saginaw Spirit vs Guelph Storm - Saginaw Spirit
- Game Day, Game 58, Firebirds at Spitfires - 4:05 p.m. - Flint Firebirds
- Generals Return Home, Wrap up Weekend against Frontenacs - Oshawa Generals
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
