Olympics a ‘dream come true’ for NHL players heading to Italy

NEW YORK -- The day has come. For the first time in 12 years, NHL players are heading to the Olympics.

And the NHL is all in.

NHL players are departing on five charter planes from the New York area on Saturday, bound for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. They're scheduled to land in Milan on Sunday and hit the ice for a full slate of practices.

The men’s tournament begins when Slovakia faces Finland at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Wednesday (10:30 a.m. ET; Peacock, USA, CBC Gem, TSN, CBC). The gold medal game is Feb. 22.

“NHLers haven’t been able to play in the Olympics in a really long time,” said New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes, who will represent the United States. “It is a dream come true.”

NHL players have participated in five Olympics: Nagano in 1998, Salt Lake in 2002, Torino in 2006, Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014.

The world’s best players made one of Games’ marquee events the best it could be. But for a variety of reasons, the NHL found that shutting down its season to send its players to someone else’s tournament was not in its best interest, especially when the Olympics were held outside North America. NHL players didn’t go to PyeongChang in 2018.

The NHL agreed to Olympic participation while negotiating an extension to the Collective Bargaining Agreement during the COVID-19 pandemic. The NHL and NHL Players’ Association worked together to address several issues with the International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation.

NHL players were supposed to go to Beijing in 2022. They didn’t because so many NHL regular-season games were postponed due to the pandemic that the 2021-22 schedule could not have been completed in a reasonable timeframe with a 17-day Olympic break.

The NHL and NHLPA staged the 4 Nations Face-Off last season, a best-on-best tournament featuring Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. It was wildly successful, capturing the attention of people inside and outside the hockey world.

That set the stage for Milan -- and for the NHL and NHLPA to hold the World Cup of Hockey in 2028 for the first time in 12 years. The plan is to alternate the Olympics and World Cup every two years, creating a regular schedule of best-on-best international tournaments.

“Obviously, the anticipation is pretty high, and everybody is excited for it,” said Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi, who will represent Switzerland. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’ve been waiting to go back for a long time.”

For the players, this is the chance of a lifetime. Many grew up playing for their countries in international tournaments at lower levels. Many play in the IIHF World Championship each year. All hope to play internationally at the highest level. Most of the players in Milan will experience the Olympics for the first time. They want to stay in spartan rooms in the Olympic Village like other athletes, not in posh hotels like they do in the NHL.

“It’s obviously on the bucket list of every athlete, wanting to represent your country at the Olympics,” said Devils forward Timo Meier, who will represent Switzerland. “I’m extremely excited.”

For the IOC and IIHF, this is a coup. The Olympics are supposed to be a pinnacle of sports. These Games will have most of the world’s best men’s hockey players competing alongside most of the world’s best women’s hockey players, plus most of the world’s best skiers and lugers and more. (We say “most” because of the notable absence of Russia, which is banned by the IOC.)

“The Olympics is all about the best athletes in their sport, so it’s awesome that NHL players are there,” said Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper, who will represent Canada.

For individual countries, this means so much. This is not just about Canada, which wants to continue its dominance, or the United States, which wants to win gold for the first time since 1980. Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (Germany), Winnipeg Jets forward Nino Niederreiter (Switzerland) and Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak (Czech Republic) each served as a flagbearer in the Opening Ceremony on Friday. Countries with fewer NHL players need them even more.

“I think that maybe people that don’t know hockey as well don’t sometimes grasp the impact having NHL players at the Games has,” said Minnesota Wild forward Nico Sturm, who will represent Germany.

For the NHL, this is an opportunity, even though it is not an NHL event. After 4 Nations, in an evolving media landscape, the League hopes the Olympics will showcase NHL players to a new audience better than in the past. If new fans enjoy men’s hockey at the Olympics, they should stay tuned for the stretch run of the NHL season, the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the World Cup.

“We’ve got a lot of eyes on us from different places, which is what we wanted to do with hockey,” said Vegas Golden Knights forward Mitch Marner, who will represent Canada. “We’re excited to go to Milan, try to get more people to tune in, to start loving hockey and to try and give it a shot themselves.”

For casual and hardcore NHL fans, man, this will be awesome. You can root for your country. You can watch players from your favorite NHL team play with new teammates and maybe against their usual teammates. You can appreciate players from your favorite NHL team and others in new ways, and you can adopt players you otherwise wouldn’t.

A Calgary Flames fan would never wear an Oilers jersey. Nor would a Bruins fan wear a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. But now a Flames fan can pull on a Connor McDavid Canada jersey with pride. Same with a Bruins fan and an Auston Matthews USA jersey.

Best-on-best international tournaments are not like the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They’re two weeks, not two months. But they’re not like the NHL All-Star Game, either. You have so many great players in one place, and it isn’t an exhibition. The speed, skill and passion are special.

We saw it at 4 Nations. We’re about to see it at the Olympics once again.

And when the Olympics are over, we’ll see all that talent back in the NHL. We’ll be reminded that the world’s best players normally compete in the world’s best league. We should never take it for granted.

“You always want to compete against the best players in the world, and we’re fortunate enough to do it every day in the NHL,” said Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle, who will represent Germany. “But internationally, to play for your country and represent your country, it’s a huge honor.”

The flights are going to feel long Saturday. The Olympics can’t come fast enough.

“Obviously, once you step foot (in Milan) and put on that jersey and get on the ice, it’s going to be a special moment just to be part of the whole buzz,” said Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson, who will represent Canada. “I think the entire world is just so excited for the Olympics.”

NHL.com Senior Draft Writer Mike G. Morreale, Senior Writer Tom Gulitti, Staff Writer Derek Van Diest and NHL.com Independent Correspondents Robby Stanley, Dan Greenspan, Paul Delos Santos and Wes Crosby contributed to this report