Gabriel Landeskog is ready to play in the 2026 Winter Olympics. The Avalanche captain has been sidelined since Jan. 4 with an upper-body injury and was questionable for the international stage.
“The first two weeks I wasn’t very confident at all,” Landeskog said. “But once I passed the first two weeks and started making some really steady progress every day. I’m excited to be here, excited that I’m able to go.”
READ MORE: How Landeskog’s absence has been a challenge for the Colorado Avalanche
Landeskog’s recovery timeline raised doubts about his ability to participate in the Olympics. Although he plans to play for Team Sweden when the tournament begins next week, he will not play in the Avalanche’s final game before the break on Wednesday.
“You want to get healthy. That’s on the front of your mind, and that’s all you think about, is to just keep making progress. And then as you start getting on the ice and you can start ramping things up, your focus shifts a little bit,” Landeskog said. “Just want to be healthy. I was hoping I would be able to come back here and play a few games. But now it’s only one game left, and we leave here in a couple days.”
Head coach Jared Bednar will be watching and rooting for his players participating in the games. But he is looking forward to getting the captain back in the lineup when the season resumes.
“It starts in the room. It carries over onto the bench and on the ice. He’s an excellent player, so I’m excited for him …,” Bednar said. “Number one, I’m excited that he’s going to be able to go and play. Number two, for him playing those games, he’ll just come back sharp and ready to go for us.”