Ehlers to suit up for Denmark at olympic qualifiers
Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers will be one of six NHL players to represent Denmark in its qualifier later this month for the 2026 Olympics in Italy.
Spanning from August 29 to September 1 Ehlers and his Denmark teammates will look to make the Olympics for the second time in their history, despite being a mainstay in the top division of the men’s World Championship dating back to the 2003 tournament.
Ehlers along with fellow NHLers Frederik Anderson, Lars Eller, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Mads Sogaard and Jonas Rondbjerg are the favourites heading into a group with Great Britain, Japan, and Norway and - if all goes according to plan - should take care of business easily in the qualifying stage, although we have seen crazier things.
The 2026 Olympics will also mark the first time NHL talent will be allowed in the tournament since 2014 in Sochi. With a Denmark team that finished seventh in the 2022 Olympics adding some NHL talent they could be an underdog heading into Italy.
Ehlers posted 25 goals and 61 points in 82 games for Winnipeg last season, hitting the 20-goal mark for the seventh time in the past eight seasons. He had a rough go in the playoffs with only two assists in five games.
Ehlers, who has been in constant trade rumors dating back almost a year, is signed through the upcoming season at a cap hit of $6 million as he is one year away from unrestricted free agency next summer.
After having a slower start to the year, the past few seasons, Ehlers will get an early jump on training camp this season.
The Olympics take place from February 5 to February 22, 2926 in two venues in Milan, Italy (PalaItalia and Fiera Milano), while the NHL goes on its first “Olympic Break” since 2014.
Fans will get their first taste of best-on-best international action this season since the aforementioned 2014 Olympics with the NHL’s Four Nation Faceoff between Canada, USA, Finland and Sweden. The Four Nations Faceoff runs from February 12 to February 20, 2025.
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