The 2026 Winter Olympics Men’s Hockey FAQ

Men’s Hockey is officially underway at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

So far, the puck has been good, especially for Team USA and Canada, who put up five goals a piece in their respective opening wins.

There are levels to these teams that go deeper than the names on the back of their jerseys. National pride, ancient-old rivalries and levels of skill we haven’t seen on the Olympic stage in quite some time.

For those getting up to speed, get on in here, and we’ll answer some frequently asked questions regarding this year’s tournament, its deep well of talent and the history of its competition. But first:

Beautiful. Alright, now ask away.

Since we’re on the Tampa Bay Lightning website, where are the Lightning players at in all this?

Below you can find a lineup of every Lightning Olympian next to their respective countries. Lightning beat writer Benjamin Pierce is doing yeoman’s work tracking each and every one of them, with full recaps after each game day.

USA: Jake Guentzel
Canada: Brandon Hagel, Head Coach Jon Cooper
Sweden: Victor Hedman, Pontus Holmberg
Switzerland: J.J. Moser
Slovakia: Erik Cernak
Latvia: Zemgus Girgensons
Denmark: Oliver Bjorkstrand
Germany: Wojciech Stachowiak (Syracuse Crunch)

Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli were originally slated for the Team Canada roster, but had to bow out due to injury.

Anything special about this tournament that separates it from years prior?

Like 2025’s electric 4 Nations Face-Off, the 2026 Winter Olympics are best-on-best. The NHL didn’t pause for the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics. So for many of today’s biggest stars, like Connor McDavid and even the Lightning’s Victor Hedman, this is their first time playing against and alongside the world’s top-level teams on the Olympic stage. Considering McDavid has three Hart Trophies and Hedman is 35-years-old, it’s kind of a big deal!

Wow, how is Heddy feeling about his first Winter Olympics?

As you might expect, Hedman is soaking it all in and feeling “super grateful” about his opportunity in Milan.

Who is the favorite to take home gold this year?

Canada is currently sitting at +120 to win it all, boasting star power that no other country can match. That star power showed out in their opening 5-0 route over Czechia, with Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini each scoring goals and Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid both notching multipoint games.

Team USA is next at +175 and features the best goaltending and perhaps the strongest collection of American talent in their Olympic history. They took it to Latvia on Thursday, cruising to a 5-1 win behind two goals from Brock Nelson.

Then there’s Sweden at +600—a medal contender that’s a bit banged up, but a strong group of NHL talent, especially on the defensive end. They pulled away from Italy in their preliminary opener 5-2, putting up 60 shots along the way. But then lost to rival Finland 4-1 Friday morning. (A common thread through this tournament: things could get crazy.)

Is there an especially terrifying lineup to keep our eyes on?

Lightning and Canada coach Jon Cooper has watched the tape, put in the work and ingeniously devised Canada’s top power play line of Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. Those three have already combined to put one in the back of the net in game one, and could send hockey fans into the fifth dimension of consciousness every time they touch the ice. Really intuitive stuff from Cooper getting those three together.

So it sounds like there’s a good chance we could see Hagel, Guentzel or Hedman with a gold medal around their neck by the end of this thing?

Yes. Well, hopefully around their necks. Some of the early competition medals have been falling apart.

The medals are falling apart?

They’re falling apart.

Explain.

The metals themselves are as profound and sturdy as ever. No slander to be said for the ol’ gold and silver—the prices of which are skyrocketing right now, making them as valuable as ever. (The same can’t be said for bronze, which is actually made of copper, yet still a perfectly steadfast metal for the third-placers.)

The problem is the ribbons, which are not holding up their end of the bargain. You would think in a town like Milan—widely regarded as one of the fashion capitals of the world, famed purveyors of cloth and fabric—that they would surely conjure up a decent ribbon. Alas.

What are the biggest international rivalries to look forward to this year?

The two big ones are USA-Canada and Sweden-Finland.

Any history behind the USA-Canada clash?

USA and Canada first faced off on the Olympic stage at the 1920 Antwerp games, with Canada defeating the U.S. 2-0 in the semifinal round on their way to gold. The U.S. wouldn’t defeat Canada until the 1960 Winter Olympics. And of course, the Americans beat them on their way to the famed “Miracle on Ice” in 1980, thanks to incredible performances from Mark Johnson and Kurt Russell.

Unsurprisingly, Canada owns the rivalry. On the Men’s Olympic stage alone, the two countries have played each other 19 times, with the U.S. winning only four of those games. But if you want to check the temperature of the rivalry as of late, google the first ten seconds of USA-Canada in last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off.

What about Sweden-Finland?

Sweden and Finland sit side-by-side geographically, separated by the Gulf of Bothnia, or as they call it in Sweden, the Gulf of Victor Hedman. (No need to fact-check me on this.) A national celebration is not only welcome, but expected when one nation beats the other. It’s a century-old strife that can get downright rude on the ice.

The rivalry has also met in some big-time games as of late. Sweden led an impossible 5-1 comeback to beat Finland 6-5 in the 2003 World Championship quarterfinal. And at the 2006 Turin Olympics, the Swedes—featuring the likes of Peter Forsberg, Nicklas Lidström, and the Lightning’s Freddy Modin—defeated Finland 3-2 in the final to take gold.

What about in-team beefs? Any Bolts putting those aside for the sake of national glory?

Certainly. Lightning fans are well-versed in Brandon Hagel’s fickle relationship with the Florida Panthers. Yet he’s already shared ice time with both Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett for Team Canada. And over on Team USA, Jake Guentzel will have to temporarily set aside any memories of Matthew Tkachuck blowing him up at center ice after an empty netter in last year's playoffs.

I personally have no idea how they do this. There are notorious elements of turbulence and physicality embedded in the "Battle of Florida." Maybe they really do put all of it aside. Maybe as soon as the country colors come on, all that other stuff feels petty and small. I stand dubious. I simply can’t imagine these guys grabbing a round of Peronis together after practice.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this year’s Winter Games have produced some interesting headlines so far. Can we expect any players in the Men’s Hockey competition to commit credit card fraud, confess to cheating on their girlfriend in a live postgame interview, or dabble in male enhancement?

Valid inquiry, but I wouldn’t count on it. Most of these guys are seasoned NHL pros who know how to keep their composure under the house lights. Those whackier headlines you speak of have come from athletes who either launch themselves into the air for hundreds of meters at a time or ski around with guns. The guys ice skating with sticks seem to be a little more chill.

That’s a relief. Okay, back to hockey. How will the gameplay look at the Winter Olympics compared to the average NHL game?

This is the most preposterous collection of hockey talent you will see on your television screen in a long time—maybe ever. Last year’s 4 Nations tournament looked like a producer was broadcasting the games on double TikTok speed while drinking a Four Loko. And the Winter Olympics only casts a wider net of global talent.

All that said, these are players who do not normally play with one another, all attempting to build some form of chemistry in a matter of days. Even the biggest stars can wander into sloppy play, and unexpected things can happen, as we’ve already seen in Slovakia’s upset over Finland. Expect a wild and fun ride to the final podium.