Kings wingers Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala were named to their respective nations’ men’s ice hockey selections for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, where Kempe will represent Sweden and Fiala will skate for Switzerland.
Each of the 12 qualifying nations announced its initial six players for the tournament on Monday, making Kempe and Fiala headliners of what were already exclusive groups.
Kempe joined defensemen Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres) and Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning) as well as fellow forwards Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche), William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings).
Kempe, Dahlin, Hedman, Nylander and Raymond all donned yellow and blue during the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, a tune-up for the Olympics that saw NHL pros in best-on-best international competition for the first time since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
The previous two Olympics, 2018 in South Korea and 2022 in China, were played without NHLPA members due to myriad complications between the NHL, IOC and IIHF.
Landeskog missed nearly three full seasons due to knee injuries and related complications, but after returning for the Colorado Avalanche during this spring’s playoffs, he figures to bring leadership, physicality and skill with the Tre Kronor emblazoning his chest.
Kempe will represent Sweden for the sixth time at the senior level, most notably having been part of the 2018 side that won gold at the World Championships.
“He’s really a utility guy, you can plug him in each and every role. He’s played alongside Anže Kopitar for years in L.A., and he excels on both sides of the ice. His skating is a weapon,” Swedish general manager Josef Boumedienne said during the season. “We see him as a guy we can plug in in each and every role. He can kill penalties, be on the power play and is heavy down low in the offensive zone.”
Fiala is coming off two consecutive trips to the World Championship final with Switzerland, which will host that tournament next season following the Olympics. The Swiss lost in this past year’s final to the United States, and to Czechia in the tournament prior.
Those were two of Fiala’s three silver medals in red and white, with Fiala frequently representing his homeland and joining Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi as the faces of the sport in Switzerland.
The Swiss did not participate in 4 Nations, but that familiar duo will be joined in neighboring Italy by Winnipeg Jets winger Nino Niederreiter and three New Jersey Devils: Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler.
Most prominent among other Kings who could head to Italy when the final rosters for the 12 national teams are revealed is defenseman Drew Doughty, who skated for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Pending unrestricted free agent Vladislav Gavrikov, who won a gold medal in 2018 as part of the Olympics Athletes from Russia delegation, would likely have participated if Russia were not banned from competing due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.