Next February, the XXV Olympic Winter Games, also known as the 2026 Winter Olympics or Milano Cortina 2026, will welcome NHL players back to the Olympic stage for the first time in more than a decade. Despite the international nature of the tournament, two NHL-size sheets of ice will be used in Italy next winter for the men’s and women’s ice hockey competitions. Twelve countries, divided into three groups, will compete over eleven days between Feb. 11 and Feb. 22, 2026. The entire schedule of games can be accessed via the IIHF website, but here are the marquee matchups in each grouping.
Team Canada Placed in Stacked Group A
Canada, the top team in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Rankings, alongside a pair of top-five ranked squads. The Canadiens are joined by Czechia (IIHF #4), Switzerland (#5), and France (#14) in Group A.Â
Sidney Crosby’s Canada squad opens its schedule on Feb. 12 against David Pastrnak and Czechia. The following night, Canada drops the puck against Timo Meier and Switzerland on Feb. 13 before finishing the tournament against France two nights later.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and France return to the men’s ice hockey portion of the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2002 with games against Switzerland on Feb. 12, Czechia on Feb. 13, and Canada on Feb. 15.
Finland, Sweden Headline Group B
Led by Stanley Cup champion Aleksander Barkov, Finland (#3) seeks to become the first defending Olympic champion since Canada’s consecutive first-place finishes at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. Finland plays Sweden in their second matchup of the competition schedule on Feb. 13.
Related: Canadiens’ Slafkovsky Set to Defend Olympics MVP Title with Slovakia
Sweden (#7) opens the tournament against host country Italy (#20) on Feb. 11, followed by the rivalry game against Finland. The next night on Feb. 14, Sweden battles Slovakia (#9) in a rematch of the 2022 bronze medal game, a 4-0 win for Slovakia behind Juraj Slafkovsky’s two goals. It was the first medal of any kind in the men’s ice hockey competition for Slovakia.
United States Early Favorite in Tough Group C
A tightly-packed Group C features the United States (#6), Germany (#8), Latvia (#10), and Denmark (#11). While Team USA fans might not be blown away by the names of the countries in their group, they should be familiar with stars Leon Draisaitl and Tim Stutzle. Denmark has a star of their own in Nikolaj Ehlers, a looming member of the 2025 unrestricted free agent class. Meanwhile, Latvia features a dynamic goalie duo in Elvis Merzlikins and Arturs Silovs that could certainly steal a game (or two) in the short-format tournament.Â
The United States drops the puck against Latvia on Thursday, Feb. 12, to open the tournament, followed by back-to-back games over the weekend against Denmark (Feb. 14) and Germany (Feb. 15). The United States recently announced the first six members of the 2026 United States Olympic Team alongside of the rest of the field, highlighted by Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, and the Tkachuk brothers (Matthew and Brady).
