Fastest skater, hardest shot, more: The Olympics’ best at every skill

The squads are finally fixed and the Milan Cortina ice rink seems to be – technically speaking – ready to host the tournament. The first Olympics with NHL players since Sochi in 2014 are almost here, and there will be plenty of stars on hand.

To help sort out the best players taking to the ice in Italy across different facets of the game – as we did ahead of last year’s 4 Nations showdown – we’re once again turning to the NHL’s EDGE tracking data and other advanced metrics. Specifically, we wanted to highlight Olympic-bound NHL players who have been the best over the past season and a half in four different measurable categories: skating speed, shooting power, offensive creation (between shooting and passing), and goaltending (putting away the hardest and easiest shots).

The Olympic tournament will feature a larger number of teams than the 4 Nations event – ​​12 teams instead of four – meaning even more contrasts in playing styles and skill levels. And while the biggest names will inevitably attract attention (and mostly dominate the data), we’ll also highlight lesser-known players in each category whose contributions are easy to miss until you know where to look.

Here are the Olympic NHL players who stand out the most in the parameters that defined modern hockey dominance before Milan Cortina:

Note: All stats and rankings are as of January 9, 2026.

Choice metrics: Maximum speed and bursts of speed (with added weight for higher MPH) per game at even strength.

Click here to explore the full interactive table.

Last year at the 4 Nations showdown, McDavid simply placed co-fastest alongside Team USA’s Jack Hughes. But even though Hughes is back in the Americans’ lineup, his speed metrics are down a bit (from a max MPH of 23.3 to 22.5, with fewer super-fast bursts) this season, while McDavid has only increased his speed.

He is joined in the front row of burners by Canadians Nathan MacKinnon and Brayden Point, Czech Martin Necas, American Jack Eichel, Finnish Roope Hintz and German Tim Stutzle. Necas, in particular, has higher gear that has rivaled McDavid’s in the past, and all of these skaters can get past defenders in just a few strides.

Pay attention to: As we’ve already noted when discussing these speed stats, defenders have fewer opportunities to show off their wheels than attackers, with a few exceptions (cough, Cale Makar). So graphs like the one above end up with a few outliers of high top speeds and comparatively fewer “bursts”.

So relish your chances of seeing Quinn Hughes and Jaccob Slavin hit that 24+ mph mark. And here’s another defender whose speed we might not talk about enough: Team USA’s Jake Sanderson, who had a higher max mph than Hughes and more high-speed bursts per 60 than any other defender on an Olympic roster.

Choice metrics: Hardest shot speed and high speed shots (with added weight for higher mph) per game at even strength.

Click here to explore the full interactive table.

Last year’s 4 Nations hardest shot king, Swede Victor Hedman, will have company at the Olympics. That’s because Thompson was selected for Team USA this time around, giving Team USA the biggest blaster in the game at their disposal. At 6-foot-6, Thompson puts his entire frame into a shot that reached even 106 mph last season, and while he hasn’t topped 98 mph this season, he’s still the only Milan Cortina player who can match Hedman’s super-hard shooting rate.

While these two are in a league of their own, the next tier is led by Swede Gustav Forsling in terms of peak power, and Swiss D-man Roman Josi in terms of pure shot production per game that strikes fear into the hearts of opposing goalkeepers.

Pay attention to: Thompson is a notable exception to this trend, but EDGE shot rate stats have the opposite trend to skating rate: they favor defensemen, who shoot more perimeter shots than other shot types – which not only increases their average shot rate, but also tends to produce more hard shots per game than forwards.

So when a winger like Swede Adrian Kempe can make over 1.5 shots at 80-90 mph per game this season, he is definitely one to watch.

Best offensive creator:
David Pastrnak, RW, Czechia

Choice metrics: Goals Created as a shooter (including actual and expected goals) and passer per 60 minutes at 5v5.

Click here to explore the full interactive table.

It’s hard to believe anyone can register more production than MacKinnon or McDavid, who give Team Canada an offensive tandem the likes of which may not have been seen since Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux at the 1987 Canada Cup.

But in terms of creating goals for himself and others on a minute-by-minute basis, it was Czech star David Pastrnak who dominated more than the two Canadian icons. His play is unprecedented among Olympians, with a league-best rate of 1.33 assists per 60 minutes over the last season and a half, while he also holds his own in the goals department (actual or expected) with MacKinnon and McDavid – even if he’s a notch below pure scorers like Thompson and Auston Matthews there.

Of course, competition remains fierce on the right side of this graph. In addition to Canada’s leading duo, we also see Necas, Germany’s Leon Draisaitl, seemingly timeless Canadian Sidney Crosby, Team USA’s Matthew Tkachuk and another Canadian double – Brandon Hagel as scorer and Mitch Marner as setup man – sitting near the top spot.

Pay attention to: Amid all this blinding star power, it would be easy to lose track of the youngest Canadian NHL player to make the Olympic team – if it weren’t for the fact that Macklin Celebrini demands attention every time he steps on the ice.

Celebrini’s development this season has been nothing short of surprising, and his performance both carries San Jose toward a playoff bid and earns him surprising MVP buzz in what would be the third-youngest Hart Trophy season in history if that happens. As part of that, he has goal and assist rates that are squarely in the same mix as those other names above, a ridiculous fact for a 19 year old.

Choice metrics: Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA) per 60 minutes at 5v5 for high danger situations and all other chances.

Click here to explore the full, interactive table.

The latest example of our slight changing of the guard since last year’s 4 Nations comes between the posts, where reigning league MVP Connor Hellebuyck of Team USA was surpassed in the set goals department — on both high-danger and regular chances — by young Swedish goalkeeper Wallstedt, who wasn’t even on his country’s roster this time a year ago.

It’s Wallstedt who leads all NHL goaltenders in goals above replacement this season, manning the Minnesota net, and his puck saves on high-danger shots in particular far exceed those of any other backstop at the Olympics. Hellebuyck’s multi-year numbers are still among the best, of course, next to Canadians Darcy Kuemper and Logan Thompson and Swede Filip Gustavsson in the group under Wallstedt.

Pay attention to: Besides that group above, there is only one other goaltender in the Olympic field who has been above average on both high-danger and consistent shots over the past season and change: Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar, representing the Czech Republic in Milano Cortina. Vladar is not an obvious starter for the Czechs, as Lukas Dostal and Karel Vejmelka also offer starting experience, but his name could be an intriguing one to watch if he gets the chance in Italy.