The Washington Capitals will have another two players involved in 2026 Winter Olympic qualifiers at the end of the month.
Team France announced that Capitals prospects Pierrick Dubé and Antoine Keller will be on the French roster after Martin Fehervary was announced to be on Team Slovakia’s roster last week.
The French team will square off with Latvia, Slovenia, and Ukraine in three games from August 29 through September 1 in Riga, Latvia. The winner of the round-robin tournament will secure one of the 12 spots at the games in Milan, Italy.
Dubé, born in Lyon, France, has represented his country at both the junior and senior levels multiple times since the 2017-18 season. He last played for the French men’s team during the 2022-23 campaign, tallying two goals in four games.
The 23-year-old winger helped lead the AHL’s Hershey Bears to their second straight Calder Cup championship last year. He finished the regular season as the team’s second-leading goal scorer after tallying 28 times in 66 games. He then chipped in an additional 10 points (7g, 3a) in 17 playoff games, notching a hat trick in the decisive Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals.
Dubé made his NHL debut with the Capitals last season and got into three total NHL games. Washington signed the undrafted Dubé to a two-year, entry-level contract in July 2023.
Keller, born in Dijon, France, has also represented his country on the international stage at both the junior and senior levels. This past season he made four starts for the U20 French team at the 2024 World Junior Championship Division I A tournament where France finished second behind Kazakhstan.
The 19-year-old backstop played his first season in North America this past year with the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan. In 37 regular season appearances, Keller posted a 17-12-5 record with a 3.05 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage and also notched a goalie goal. He starred in the QMJHL playoffs, going 4-2-1 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
Keller was the first player in Capitals franchise history to be drafted out of France and only the sixth French player ever drafted overall. He signed a two-year contract with Swiss club Lausanne HC this summer where former Capitals goaltender Cristobal Huet will be his goaltending coach.
France has participated in ten Olympic tournaments in their history, last qualifying for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their best finish is fifth overall, achieved in 1924 and 1928, while their lowest finish was fourteenth, in 1968 and 2002.
