2026 Milano Cortina Olympics On Tap: Canada, United States begin quest for gold

The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 have begun. The men’s hockey tournament, the first with NHL players since the 2014 Sochi Olympics, will feature all 12 teams playing three preliminary games in their respective groups, then all 12 moving on to a single-elimination playoff that will conclude with the gold medal game Feb. 22.

Here is a look at the games on Thursday:

Switzerland vs. France (6:10 a.m. ET; Peacock, ICI Télé, CBC Gem, SN)

Team Switzerland, which is hoping to end a 78-year Olympic medal drought, will open play with a Group A game against Team France at Santagiulia Arena. Switzerland took the silver medal at the IIHF World Championship the past two years, losing to Czechia in the championship game in 2024 and the United States last year. They have 10 NHL regulars led by two team captains, Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi and New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier. Josi will serve as Switzerland captain at the Olympics. Team France will look to pull off the upset with four players on the roster with NHL experience, including the only current active player in Montreal Canadiens forward Alexandre Texier. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Yohann Auvitu and Stephane Da Costa are the other players on France's roster with NHL experience.

Czechia vs. Canada (10:40 a.m. ET; Peacock, USA, ICI Télé, CBC Gem, RDS2, CBC)

Team Canada opens play in Group A with a stern test against Team Czechia at Santagiulia Arena. The Canadians are confident, however, after finishing first in each of the past four international best-on-best tournaments: gold medals at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2014 Sochi Olympics, and championships at the World Cup of Hockey 2016 and the 4 Nations Face-Off last year. Canada is one of three teams comprised entirely of NHL players, along with the United States and Sweden. The biggest question entering the opener is who will be the starting goalie. Coach Jon Cooper has three Stanley Cup winners to choose from in Jordan Binnington (2019) of the St. Louis Blues, Darcy Kuemper (2022) of the Los Angeles Kings and Logan Thompson (2023) of the Washington Capitals. Binnington is the likely favorite after he started all four games at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Czechia certainly will challenge whoever Canada decides to put in net, as it has 17 players from the team that won the gold medal at the 2024 IIHF World Championship (10 forwards, five defensemen, two goalies). Forward David Pastrnak, who is sixth in the NHL with 71 points (22 goals, 49 assists) in 52 games with the Boston Bruins, leads that talented group.

Latvia vs. United States (3:10 p.m. ET; Peacock, USA, ICI TOU.TV, CBC Gem, SN, RDS)

Team USA will open play in Group C against Team Latvia at Santagiulia Arena. U.S. general manager Bill Guerin and his staff return 21 of 25 players who played in the 4 Nations and that doesn't include Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes, who missed 4 Nations because of injury. Hughes was paired with Charlie McAvoy during practice Tuesday. The United States is looking to win an Olympic gold medal in men's hockey for the first time since the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. The Americans also are trying to win a best-on-best tournament for the first time since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. Latvia shouldn't be overlooked; they lost all three preliminary round games in Sochi in 2014 and then defeated Switzerland 3-1 in the qualification round before losing 2-1 to Canada in the quarterfinals. There are six NHL players on Latvia's roster: forwards Zemgus Girgensons, Teddy Blueger and Sandis Vilmanis, defenseman Uvis Balinskis, and goalies Elvis Merzlikins and Arturs Silovs.

Germany vs. Denmark (3:10 p.m. ET; Peacock, ICI Télé, CBC Gem, TSN)

Team Germany certainly has some high-end talent to rely upon as it starts play in Group C, including Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl who is the best NHL player in German history with 1,036 points (428 goals, 608 assists) in 845 games. He is joined by six other NHL players, including forwards Tim Stutzle, JJ Peterka, Josh Samanski and Nico Sturm, defenseman Moritz Seider and goalie Philipp Grubauer. Germany won silver at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics when NHL players didn't participate. Team Denmark has six NHL players on the roster: forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nikolaj Ehlers, Lars Eller, Oscar Fisker Molgaard, and goalies Frederik Andersen and Mads Sogaard. The country has had only 19 players appear in the NHL.