Canada, U.S. expectations among top men's hockey storylines in 2026 Olympics

MILAN -- Let the Games begin.

A total of 148 NHL players are in Milan to represent their respective countries in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Of those 148, 125 are first-time Olympians.

Team Canada and Team USA are the projected favorites to reach the gold medal game on Feb. 22, but the challenge of getting there will be great with proud hockey superpowers Team Sweden and Team Finland harboring the same goals, aspirations and expectations.

Finland won the gold medal in Beijing four years ago, but NHL players weren't at that Olympics.

Finland and Sweden are both in Group B with Team Slovakia and Team Italy. Slovakia has Juraj Slafkovsky and Simon Nemec returning from the 2022 team that won bronze.

Team Switzerland believes its chances to medal are great with Roman Josi leading the way. Same for Team Czechia with David Pastrnak. Both are in Group A with Canada and Team France.

Team Germany has big hopes with Leon Draisaitl carrying the flag.

Team Denmark defeated a Canada team that had Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini at the 2025 IIHF World Championship. Could it do the same thing to the U.S.?

Team Latvia gave Canada a scare in the quarterfinals at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Germany, Denmark and Latvia join the U.S. in Group C.

There will be 18 preliminary round games from Wednesday through Saturday. Each group winner and the best second-place finisher will advance to the quarterfinal round. The remaining eight teams will play a qualification playoff game to reach the quarterfinals on Feb. 17.

The quarterfinals are Feb. 18 and the winners advance to the semifinals on Feb. 20. The bronze medal game is Feb. 21 and the gold medal game is Feb. 22, the final day of the Olympics.

Here are 10 storylines to watch with the men's hockey tournament set to begin Wednesday.

Gold standard

Canada has won the gold medal in three of the past four Olympics that have featured NHL players, in 2002, 2010 and 2014.

The Canadians have, in fact, won the past four international tournaments featuring best-on-best competition: the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, 2014 Sochi Olympics, World Cup of Hockey 2016 and the 4 Nations Face-Off last year.

Crosby and defenseman Drew Doughty were a part of all four of those teams, and they're the only two players on Canada's 25-man roster that have Olympic experience.

However, the same gold standard is in place for this Canada team that features 15 players who have combined to win the Stanley Cup 21 times, and 19 players who were part of the 4 Nations Face-Off team that defeated the U.S. 3-2 in overtime in the final game.

Goalie games

The days of Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo and Carey Price winning gold medals for Canada are long gone. So if the Canadians are to win a fourth Olympic gold medal with NHL players, Jordan Binnington, Logan Thompson or Darcy Kuemper must step up big.

Binnington did that at the 4 Nations Face-Off, but statistically he's having the worst season among the three goalies Canada is taking to the Olympics. He has eight wins, a 3.65 goals-against average, .864 save percentage and one shutout in 32 games with the St. Louis Blues.

Thompson has 19 wins, a 2.45 GAA, .912 save percentage and two shutouts in 39 games with the Washington Capitals, and Kuemper has 14 wins, a 2.59 GAA, .900 save percentage and two shutouts in 36 games with the Los Angeles Kings.

Canada would not have won the 4 Nations without Binnington's dominance in that tournament. It won't win at the Olympics without at least one of the goalies replicating that.

Forty-six years later

Team USA enters the Olympics with the expectation to win its first gold medal since the "Miracle on Ice" in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.

To do it, the Americans have to avoid playing second fiddle to Canada again.

Canada defeated the United States in the gold medal game in 2002 and 2010, and then in the 4 Nations Face-Off final game last year.

But this Team USA is banking on chemistry created at the 4 Nations. It returns 21 of 23 players that played in that tournament, with defensemen Quinn Hughes and Jackson LaCombe, and forwards Tage Thompson and Clayton Keller new to the team.

Hughes was selected to play in the 4 Nations but couldn't because of injury. Thompson and Keller led Team USA to the gold medal at the 2025 World Championship, ending a 92-year drought in that tournament.

Maybe the 46-year Olympic gold drought ends Feb. 22.

"Really believe in our team, really believe in the build, the makeup," U.S. forward Brady Tkachuk said. "I think experiencing what we did in 4 Nations, it just created that much more fire to win gold."

American goals

The U.S. is mostly running it back from the 4 Nations, but in doing so it left home three of the top four American-born goal-scorers in the NHL this season.

Jason Robertson has 32 goals for the Dallas Stars and Cole Caufield has the same amount for the Montreal Canadiens. Alex DeBrincat leads the Detroit Red Wings with 30 goals.

But it's not as if this U.S. team is bereft of scoring.

Matt Boldy has 32 goals. Thompson has 30. Brock Nelson has 29. Auston Matthews, Jake Guentzel and Dylan Larkin each have 26. Kyle Connor has 25.

Team USA's roster has combined for 301 goals this season, second in the tournament behind Team Canada's 383.

But if the Americans struggle to score, you just know there will be significant second-guessing and scrutiny about leaving Robertson, Caufield and DeBrincat off the roster.

Triple threat

Crosby and Doughty can make history in Milan.

The two Canadians will try to become the first NHL players to win the Olympic gold medal three times after taking it home in Vancouver and Sochi.

"This one’s going to be super special for me, because it’ll be the first one that I’ve had my kids at," Doughty said. "I’m very excited to experience it with them. They’ve never been to Italy, never been to the Olympic Games, so they’re super excited. And, yeah, I hope to win them a gold medal. I mean, everyone on that team is an unbelievable player, and they’ve all dealt with pressure and high-pressure moments, and everyone on Team Canada thrives under the pressure, so I don’t see that being an issue.

"Yes, it’s a fail if we don’t win a gold, but we’re going in there, and we’re just going to play our butts off, and whatever happens, happens.”

The other NHL players who are two-time Olympic gold medalists are Jarome Iginla, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Getzlaf, Duncan Keith, Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash, Corey Perry, Jonathan Toews and Shea Weber.

Can't-miss Swiss

Switzerland arguably is bringing its best and most talented team ever to the Olympics. It features 10 NHL players and 17 with NHL experience, a total of 6,222 NHL games played, 3,360 points for skaters and 47 wins for goalies.

Will it be enough for the Swiss to win their first Olympic medal since 1948?

That's the goal and that's why they are a team to watch in Milan.

"The biggest focus is that we don't have to hide from anyone anymore," forward Nino Niederreiter said. "When you go out there we can play our game and we don't have to be that Swiss wall like we used to play just to make sure we didn't take lots of damage. Now we actually can compete."

Miracolo

Could another host country pull off a miracle just like the Americans did in Lake Placid in 1980?

Well, it certainly would be just that if Team Italy were to do any significant damage in the tournament.

Italy is the only country in the tournament without an NHL player on its roster, although 6-foot-6 goalie Damian Clara is a prospect with the Anaheim Ducks, who selected him in the second round (No. 60) of the 2023 NHL Draft.

The Italians have 25 first-time Olympians and four NHL draft picks, including Clara, defenseman Thomas Larkin (Columbus Blue Jackets, fifth round, 2009), forward Matthew Bradley (Canadiens, fifth round, 2015) and forward Cristiano DiGiacinto (Tampa Bay Lightning, sixth round, 2014).

Many of the players on Team Italy were born in North America and have ties to players on Team USA and Team Canada through college or junior hockey.

This is the third time Italy is competing at an Olympics featuring NHL players. Its lone win came in 1998 against Austria. It was also the host at the 2006 Torino Olympics but finished last in Group A despite ties against Germany and Switzerland.

Vive la Bellemare

The feel-good story to keep an eye on is Team France captain Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

Bellemare, the former NHL forward, is the oldest player in the tournament at 40 years and 342 days as of Wednesday, when the games begin.

He is competing in his first Olympic Games after failing to help France qualify five times.

It's the first time since 2002 that France has qualified for the Olympics in men's hockey.

Bellemare is one of the most decorated France-born players in history with 700 NHL games on his resume. He had 138 points in his career and is second among France-born players, behind Antoine Roussel (197).

Bellemare, who played in the NHL from 2014-24, has represented France 12 times in the World Championship, six times in the Olympic qualifiers and played for Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey 2016.

He expects this will be his last time representing his country as a player on the international stage.

King who?

Henrik Lundqvist wore the crown for Sweden the last three times NHL players competed at the Olympics. The Hall of Fame goalie helped his country win gold in 2006 and take home silver in 2014.

Lundqvist, known well by his nickname, The King, will be in Milan for these Games too, only this time he will be working as an analyst for Swedish TV, watching and hoping that one of Sweden's three goalies can find a way to wear the crown as proudly as he once did.

Filip Gustavsson figures to get first crack at it. The Minnesota Wild goalie is 20-9-6 with 2.64 GAA, .907 save percentage and three shutouts in 36 games this season.

Gustavsson will get pushed by Wild teammate Jesper Wallstedt, who has been one of the top rookie goalies this season with a 14-5-4 record, 2.72 GAA, .914 save percentage and four shutouts.

Jacob Markstrom will be in the mix too, though he's not having near the type of season for the New Jersey Devils as Gustavsson and Wallstedt are for the Wild. Markstrom is 15-13-1 with a 3.20 GAA and .882 save percentage.

Teen spirit

Macklin Celebrini will make history as the first teenager to play for Canada at an Olympics involving NHL players. The 19-year-old San Jose Sharks center is fourth in the NHL with 81 points (28 goals, 53 assists).

But Celebrini is not the only teenager in the tournament. He's not even the youngest player in the tournament.

Team Latvia defenseman Alberts Smits is 18 years old and the only 2026 draft-eligible player at the Olympics.

Smits is No. 2 on NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of International skaters for the 2026 NHL Draft. He plays for Jukurit in Liiga, Finland's top professional men's league.

Smits also played for Latvia at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, where he had five points (one goal, four assists) in five games.

Smits has a chance to become the highest-selected Latvian player in NHL Draft history.

Latvian teammate Zemgus Girgensons has that honor now; he was selected with the No. 14 pick of the 2014 draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

He will become the second 18-year-old to play at an Olympics involving NHL players after Aleksander Barkov (2014, Team Finland). Olli Maatta (2014, Finland), Christian Ehrhoff (2002, Germany) and Marco Sturm (1998, Germany) each was 19 when he played in the Olympics.