Team USA 'can already sense' chemistry at 2026 Olympics

MILAN -- When Team USA practiced at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 on Monday, you could see the effect of the 4 Nations Face-Off last season, from the team picture to the forward lines and defense pairs.

The United States went to overtime of the championship game at 4 Nations and had multiple scoring chances before losing 3-2 to Canada. The Americans hope a similar formula will lead to their first Olympic gold in men's hockey since 1980.

"We had a really good tournament last year," defenseman Zach Werenski said. "We were one goal short of winning it, so it's not like you need to change too much, right? You can get chemistry quick."

The Americans took their team picture before practice at Santagiulia Arena on Monday. Of the 25 players on the roster, 21 played at 4 Nations. That didn't include defenseman Quinn Hughes, who was supposed to but didn't because of a lower-body injury.

The leadership group was the same: center Auston Matthews as captain, defenseman Charlie McAvoy and forward Matthew Tkachuk as alternates.

Matthews said he was honored to wear the "C" but pointed out how many players had come back from 4 Nations.

"It's leadership throughout our whole team, and you could see that last February, and you can already sense it here, being here in Milan," he said.

That's the idea.

"We really liked the chemistry that the group developed through the 4 Nations experience," coach Mike Sullivan said. "We got an opportunity to watch it up close and personal, and all of us walked away from that experience so impressed with the character of the people, but also the leadership and how we came together as a team, and that's such an important element of these types of tournaments."

The 4 Nations Face-Off was the first best-on-best tournament since the World Cup of Hockey 2016 and the first time these coaches and players had worked together as a group.

There was little time to experiment, but the Americans tried a few different things.

"Some we liked," Sullivan said. "Some we didn't."

They brought some things they liked to Milan.

Nothing is set in stone, and they have three preliminary games before single elimination begins. But they have starting points for their opener against Team Latvia on Thursday (3:10 p.m. ET; Peacock, USA, CBC Gem, SN, CBC).

Perhaps most notably Monday, they put the Tkachuk brothers on a line with center Jack Eichel -- Brady at left wing, Matthew on the right. They first tried that combination in the middle of the opener at 4 Nations. It sparked a 6-1 win against Finland, then a 3-1 win against Canada.

"We liked the Tkachuk brothers when we put them together," Sullivan said. "We thought they're heart-and-soul guys. In a lot of ways, they personify what it means to be an American with their fierce competitive spirit, and so I thought that they were the catalyst for our team becoming a team in the true sense of the word."

Maybe they'll be the catalyst this time too.

"A lot of people talk about their agitating skills, their toughness, their competitiveness," Eichel said. "Both of them are unbelievable competitors. But they're phenomenal hockey players, and they make a ton of plays. They think the game well. They have great hands. They go to the net. They finish well. For a centerman, it's really easy to play with the two of them.

"We had a little bit of success last year, and hopefully we can pick up where that left off."

Hughes and Brock Faber are a defense pair for the Minnesota Wild, and Wild coach John Hynes is a U.S. assistant. But they didn't skate together Monday. Hughes skated with McAvoy, and Faber was with Jaccob Slavin, his partner at 4 Nations.

"I think that definitely helps," Slavin said. "Played solid together last year, and so much confidence going into it. Don't have to feel each other out as much this year."

The United States only has two right-handed shots on defense, so a left-handed shot has to move to the right side.

It was Werenski on Monday. He started out on the left side at 4 Nations and usually plays the left for the Columbus Blue Jackets. But during 4 Nations, he moved to the right to play with Jake Sanderson, and he's doing it again.

At least it won't be the first time, and it's easier from a systems standpoint. Werenski said at 4 Nations, Sullivan's system was so different than what he was used to that he found himself thinking a lot on the ice early in the tournament. Already, it's easier.

"I'm just familiar with how he wants us to play," Werenski said. "All the terms he's using, I'm familiar with, which I think helps a lot individually. There's less thinking out there. It's just playing hockey and understanding where you have to be."

The most important effect of 4 Nations might be the pride in the players, though.

"I really just think what I saw at the 4 Nations has just carried on to this, how proud we are all to wear the red, white and blue," Matthew Tkachuk said. "… That hasn't changed at all for this. It's maybe even taken a step up, so it's been great."