With the calendar finally turning over to 2026, and final rosters for the 2026 Milan Olympics being released daily, there has emerged a select field of fourteen men and three women from five countries who, if successful in winning Gold at next month’s Games, will gain the unique distinction of joining the Triple Gold Club.

First captured by Mats Näslund, Håkan Loob and Tomas Jonsson after Sweden’s Gold medal triumph at Lillehammer 1994, and formalized by the IIHF in 2007, the club recognizes players that have captured Gold at the Olympics and IIHF World Championships, and either the NHL’s Stanley Cup for men or PWHL’s Walter Cup for women. Since 1994, there have been 31 men and 6 women that have gained this honour, with the Olympic Gold serving as the hardest part of the trifecta to complete, given the Games’ quadrennial cycle. Only eleven men have joined the Club by winning Olympic Gold last, the latest being Pavel Datsyuk in 2018.

For 2026, there are a number of viable contenders who could join the club, already with a World Championship and Stanley / Walter Cup on hand. Starting on the men’s side with the defending Olympic champions, Finland, the Leijonat feature two players who captured both World Championship Gold in 2019 and the Stanley Cup in 2024 with the Florida Panthers, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola; if Finland can repeat as Olympic champions, they would become just the second and third Triple Gold Club members from Finland, joining Valtteri Filppula, who achieved the trifecta at the 2022 World Championships.

If Canada, who won the last “best on best” Olympics at Sochi 2014, captures their record tenth Olympic Gold in Milan, there would be six eligible members who would join the twelve Canadians already in the Club – a trio from Canada’s 2016 World Championship team with Stanley Cups to their name, Brad Marchand (2011, Boston), Mark Stone (2023, Vegas) and Sam Reinhart (2024, Florida), and a pair of teammates from Colorado’s 2022 Stanley Cup victory with World Championship titles, Nathan MacKinnon (2015) and Darcy Kuemper (2021). Lastly, assistant coach and VP Operations Misha Donskov could become the second coach, after Mike Babcock in 2010, to join the Club following his Worlds (2016) and Stanley Cup (2023) credentials behind the bench.

If Sweden were to win their third Olympic title, and first in twenty years, a trio of players would join the nine Swedes already in the Triple Gold Club – presumptive team captain Gabriel Landeskog, who won Worlds Gold in 2013 and the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022; and defenders Victor Hedman and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, both members of the 2017 World Championship squad who won Stanley Cups in 2020 with Tampa Bay and 2024 with Florida, respectively.

And lastly, if the Czechs can win just their second Olympic Gold, and first since 1998, there would be three new players to join Jaromír Jágr and Jiří Šlégr in the Club, all members of Czechia’s historic 2024 Prague World Championship squad – Stanley Cup winners Michal Kempný (2018, Washington), Ondřej Palát and Jan Rutta (both 2020, Tampa Bay).

Interestingly, the defending World Champions Team USA, who have not won Olympic Gold since the famous “Miracle On Ice” in 1980, would not see anyone join the Club, as none of the 25 men on the roster have yet to win the Stanley Cup; however, four members of that squad (Clayton Keller, Jeremy Swayman, Tage Thompson, Zach Werenski) will be in Milan, looking to move one step closer to Club membership.

However, there will be Americans in Milan with Club membership on the line, as three members of the American women’s team will look to join the five inaugural women’s members of the Club – all members of the Minnesota Frost, it will be Taylor Heise (2023 World Championship, 2024 Walter Cup), Grace Zumwinkle and Britta Curl (both 2025 World Championship, 2025 Walter Cup) with something extra to play for in Milan, given the Walter Cup being in just its third season of existence.

Will any of these potential contenders join this exclusive hockey club, marking the first time in two decades that more than one player became a Club member after winning Olympic Gold, or will a dark horse competitor capture Olympic Gold in Milan, perhaps bringing even more players one step closer to joining the Club? We are less than a month away from finding out once the puck drops on the 2026 Games!

Photo Credit: National Jeweler – IIHF – HHOF – IOC