Eight of the 12 nations competing in the men's hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics released their initial lists of participants early Monday.

The preliminary rosters are stuffed with NHL players except for the team from Italy, which has a spot in the Games as the host nation. Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo are the host cities.

This will be the first appearance of NHL players in the Olympics since they were held in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.

A disagreement between the NHL and the IIHF kept the NHL players out of the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and they didn't play in Beijing in 2022 because of COVID-related scheduling issues.

Preliminary games will begin in the Olympics on Feb. 11, with the gold-medal game scheduled to be played Feb. 22. Finland is the defending champion.

The remaining countries -- Canada, Denmark, France and the United States -- are set to announce their selections later Monday.

CZECHIA

Lukas Dostal, G, Anaheim Ducks

Radko Gudas, D, Anaheim Ducks

Martin Necas, F, Colorado Avalanche

Ondrej Palat, F, New Jersey Devils

David Pastrnak, F, Boston Bruins

Pavel Zacha, F, Boston Bruins

FINLAND

Sebastian Aho, F, Carolina Hurricanes

Aleksander Barkov, F, Florida Panthers

Miro Heiskanen, D, Dallas Stars

Esa Lindell, D, Dallas Stars

Mikko Rantanen, F, Dallas Stars

Juuse Saros, G, Nashville Predators

GERMANY

Leon Draisaitl, F, Edmonton Oilers

Philipp Grubauer, G, Seattle Kraken

Lukas Reichel, F, Chicago Blackhawks

Moritz Seider, D, Detroit Red Wings

Nico Sturm, F, Florida Panthers

Tim Stutzle, F, Ottawa Senators

ITALY

Diego Kostner, F

Daniel Mantenuto, F

Tommy Purdeller, F

Thomas Larkin, D

Luca Zanatta, D

Damian Clara, G, Anaheim Ducks

LATVIA

Rodrigo Abols, F, Philadelphia Flyers

Uvis Balinskis, D, Florida Panthers

Teddy Blueger, F, Vancouver Canucks

Zemgus Girgensons, F, Tampa Bay Lightning

Elvis Merzlikins, G, Columbus Blue Jackets

Arturs Silovs, G, Vancouver Canucks

SLOVAKIA

Erik Cernak, D, Tampa Bay Lightning

Martin Fehervary, D, Washington Capitals

Simon Nemec, D, New Jersey Devils

Martin Pospisil, F, Calgary Flames

Juraj Slafkovsky, F, Montreal Canadians

Tomas Tatar, F

SWEDEN

Rasmus Dahlin, D, Buffalo Sabres

Victor Hedman, D, Tampa Bay Lightning

Adrian Kempe, F, Los Angeles Kings

Gabriel Landeskog, F, Colorado Avalanche

William Nylander, F, Toronto Maple Leafs

Lucas Raymond, F, Detroit Red Wings

SWITZERLAND

Kevin Fiala, F, Los Angeles Kings

Nico Hischier, F, New Jersey Devils

Roman Josi, D, Nashville Predators

Timo Meier, F, New Jersey Devils

Nino Niederreiter, F, Winnipeg Jets

Jonas Siegenthaler, D, New Jersey Devils

--Field Level Media