Superstar JJ Peterka Mysteriously Snubbed From German Olympic Team

The 2026 Olympic Games are right around the corner, and with 12 teams now confirmed to be chasing gold in Italy, the hype will start to build for what will be a monumental event for hockey.

On Monday, the IIHF revealed that all 12 teams involved will name their first six players for the tournament, and thus far, we've seen several nations such as Sweden, Switzerland, Czechia and Austria do just that, as well as the intriguing German team.

The names that Germany announced? Leon Draisaitl, Philip Grubaer, Nico Sturm, Tim Stutzle, Lukas Reichel and Moritz Seider, and while those are some good names, as Scott Wheeler points out, there's one major snub from that group.

In reaction to this post, the reporter from The Athletic points out that JJ Peterka was absent from that group, and while it's a certainty that he'll be on the roster come tournament time, it's surprising to see one of the NHL's fastest rising young stars not be included in this first big group.

This past season, Peterka put up career highs across the board, tallying 27 goals and 68 points in 77 games played, and at 23-years of age, he is going to be a crucial part of their international team for many, many years to come.

That makes it all the more surprising that he wasn't one of the top names announced by Germany for the tournament, but with more and more NHL talent on this roster moving forward, it's safe to say that they shouldn't be a team that's underestimated at this tournament.