Canadiens fans just learned how much Nick Suzuki will play in the Olympics

When Team Canada takes the ice for its Olympic opener this week, a familiar face to Montreal Canadiens fans will be on the ice.

Canada has possibly the most stacked roster we've ever seen from a country that typically sends superstars to the Olympic stage. One of the young stars who made the cut for the first time is Nick Suzuki, which is exciting but also begs the question of where he fits in such a loaded roster of talent.

In pre-game warmups for Canada's opener against Czechia on Thursday, the team announced their forward lines for the game. Suzuki is lined up in the top six as the second line right winger against Czechia. Alongside Suzuki is Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon and Tampa Bay Lightning left winger Brandon Hagel.

Nick Suzuki's role in Canada's opening game of 2026 Winter Olympics revealed

Suzuki being in the top six is a huge moment for him, especially for his Olympic debut. Suzuki, who has 65 points through 57 games for Montreal this season, is set to play alongside MacKinnon, who is the favorite to win the Hart Trophy at the end of the season. That is going to be incredible watching the two try and set up scoring situations against their opponents. This is a bit different from the lines during Team Canada's practice on Wednesday.

During team practice on Wednesday, Suzuki was on the right wing of the fourth line, next to New York Islanders center Bo Horvat and Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand.

What is unknown is if there are any alterations to the penalty kill unit. During Wednesday's practice, Suzuki was lined up with Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand on the third forward set in those situations. They are behind the forward sets of Hagel and Horvat, and Mitch Marner and Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights.

It's not a surprise that Suzuki would be on the penalty kill. After all, he is the favorite to win the Selke Trophy for the best defensive forward in the league. He has essentially run away with the award, considering Aleksander Barkov is slated to miss most, if not all, of the season due to a torn ACL. When Suzuki is on the ice for Montreal, the opponents have difficulty scoring goals. That's how much of an impact he has. Oh, and he won 49.4 percent of faceoffs this season, so there's another advantage he will have on Canada's penalty kill.

Of course, roles will change through the course of the Winter Olympics, whether it's due to injuries or changes to game-planning. But this is where Montreal fans can expect Suzuki to line up during Canada's first game of the international competition on Thursday.