Montreal Canadiens’ Nick Suzuki thinks back upon getting the call for Team Canada for Milan Olympics

The Canadiens had just pulled up to their hotel in Raleigh following a dramatic comeback win in Florida. The place felt more like a retreat than a typical road stopover, tucked deep in the forest with dogwood trees framing the property and crisp air drifting across a quiet lake.Most nights, a setting like that guarantees perfect sleep. Not for Nick Suzuki. Not when he knew his phone could ring in a few hours with life-changing news. Because the next morning, the Canadiens captain got the call he had awaited all his life. The call to be a part of Team Canada at the Olympics.

Getting to be part of Team Canada remained Nick Suzuki’s biggest wish

"I didn't really sleep that much," Suzuki explained the next morning, "anticipating that I would hopefully be getting a phone call."

When dawn broke over North Carolina, Suzuki's ringtone jolted him awake. A Tampa Bay area code lit up his screen. Julien BriseBois was on the other end, and the message was exactly what the 26-year-old captain had been waiting for. "I saw a Tampa Bay phone number calling me, so I had a good feeling, but I didn't really know what the news was going to be," he said. "Julien BriseBois told me that I was making the team, and there was a crazy amount of emotions.

I couldn't be happier and prouder to make that team." Back in the hotel meal room, teammates offered quiet congratulations as the weight of the moment settled in. When Hockey Canada made the announcement official around noon, players still lingering after breakfast gathered behind Suzuki, cheering as they watched confirmation come through live on his phone. The London, Ontario, native was left off Canada's roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, but he spent the 2025 calendar year proving that decision wrong. Suzuki finished with 97 points between January and December, third among all Canadian NHLers behind only Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid. "It means a lot," Suzuki acknowledged. "There are so many great athletes, especially in Canada, and to experience the Olympics as an athlete will be something that's truly rare."Suzuki won't be heading to Milano Cortina to pile up points. His value lies in everything else he brings.

A near lock for Selke Trophy consideration this season with 65 points through 57 games, he's become one of the league's most reliable two-way centers."I just want to be me," he said. "I think I can impact the game in many different ways, so I don't need to change the way I play. I made the team for a reason, so I just want to play my game and whatever the team needs me to do, I can do."Team Canada is set to play their first game on Thursday as they face Czechia to start their campaign. With Canada winning Gold the last time NHL players were a part of the Olympics, Suzuki would be hoping that he could lead his side to that milestone.