Matthew Tkachuk’s 2025 season was anything but easy. At just 27, he revealed that he had been dealing with two serious injuries, both suffered while playing for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Those injuries kept him out of the last 25 regular-season games, but he returned just in time for the playoffs.

His comeback was huge for the Florida Panthers. Tkachuk scored 23 points in 23 playoff games, including seven points in the Stanley Cup Final against Edmonton, helping Florida win their second straight title in June 2025. However, what he revealed after Game 2 of the Final has raised doubts about his Olympic availability. Despite being one of the first six players locked in for Team USA’s 2026 Winter Olympics squad, his name was left off the recently announced 44-man Orientation Camp roster.

Why is Matthew Tkachuk missing from Team USA’s Olympics Orientation Camp?

On August 19, Team USA released a 44-player list for their Olympic Orientation Camp, and Tkachuk wasn’t on it. The likely reason: his injuries and the surgery he still hasn’t had.

After Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, Tkachuk shocked reporters by admitting he was playing through two major injuries—a torn adductor muscle and a sports hernia, both on the same side of his body. He explained that his adductor wasn’t just strained but completely torn from the bone. Still, he chose to play through the pain. At the same time, he mentioned surgery would be needed, but it hasn’t happened yet.

NHL insider Evan Renaerts reported on June 28 that Tkachuk’s surgery was delayed, possibly due to his wedding on July 19. He added that a late-summer procedure would put Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and cause him to miss a significant portion of the upcoming season, though not all of it. “Matthew Tkachuk has not yet undergone the surgery that was planned to repair injuries he suffered last season.” This has fueled speculation about how the Panthers might use his LTIR status.

Because of this surgery delay, Tkachuk is not attending Team USA’s Orientation Camp. Still, he remains one of the six players already guaranteed a place in the Olympic squad.

Matthew and Brady Tkachuk are among the first 6 players on the roster 

Despite his injury situation, Matthew Tkachuk has had a busy offseason. He appeared on the cover of EA Sports NHL 26 alongside his brother Brady and father Keith, and he married Ellie Connell in July.

More importantly, both Matthew and Brady were among the first six players named to Team USA’s 2026 Winter Olympics roster, alongside Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Quinn Hughes, and Charlie McAvoy.

The full 25-man roster will be finalized in January. For now, the big question is whether Tkachuk’s injuries—and his delayed surgery—will allow him to take the ice in Italy next winter.