Early look at who is favoured in Italy

The last time NHL hockey players competed in the Olympics, Canada’s gold-medal run was led by Jonathan Toews, Sidney Crosby and Shea Weber.

Connor McDavid was but 17 years old and in the midst of a 99-point OHL season with the Erie Otters, still one year removed from being taken first overall by the Edmonton Oilers at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Fans have been salivating at the thought of seeing players like McDavid, Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak, William Nylander, Aleksander Barkov and Leon Draisaitl in a true best-on-best tournament. Sure, we’ve had the 2016 World Cup and 2024 4 Nations Faceoff but the 2026 Olympic Winter Games will be the first time since 2014 when the best of the best compete at the Olympics.

Today marks the six-month countdown to puck drop of the men’s Olympic hockey tournament in Italy and here is what to expect from each of the 12 teams vying for gold.

Group A

Canada
The always-favoured Canadians have won three gold medals in the five Olympics that have featured NHL players. This includes 2014 in Sochi when Canada shut out Sweden 3-0, arguably the most memorable championship in 2010 when Canada won on home soil in Vancouver 5-2 over the United States – the “Iggy, Iggy!” moment – and the 2002 win in Salt Lake. Canada’s first six players named to the 2026 team are a who’s who of NHL superstars – the aforementioned McDavid and Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Brayden Point, and Sam Reinhart.

Czechia
No one can take away the fact the Czechs won the first Olympic gold medal to feature NHLers, that coming in 1998 when Dominik Hasek’s legendary status was cemented, as the Czech goaltender allowed just six goals all tournament long, and only two in the medal round. Hasek led the Czechs to a dramatic shootout win over Canada in the semi-finals and then backstopped his team to a 1-0 shutout win over Russia in the gold medal game. Pastrnak and fellow Boston Bruin Pavel Zacha are two of the six players already named to the team and the Czechs will rely on Lukas Dostal to find his inner Hasek to keep the always structured and opportunistic Czechs in the hunt for the podium.

France
The 2026 Games will mark the third time France has participated in an Olympics featuring the best on best. The French finished 14^th in 2002 and 11^th in 1998. We’re not sure Group A can be called a Group of Death but France is in tough in the preliminary round, as it will be a heavy underdog against Canada, Czechia and Switzerland. Group winners and one additional team from each group with the best record will move onto the quarter-finals and it would be shocking to see France advance. Crazier things have happened, of course, and you can bet NHLer Alexandre Texier and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – who played 700 games in the world’s top league – will give it their all to try and lead France to an upset or two.

Switzerland
The Swiss have been making noise on the international scene for the past few years – most notably winning back-to-back silver medals at the 2024 and 2025 IIHF World Championships – but they’ll have to knock down one of Canada or Czechia to advance to the quarters at the Olympics. There’s plenty of big-game experience on the 2026 Swiss roster, led by towering defenceman Roman Josi and super-skilled forwards Kevin Fiala, Nico Hischier and Nino Niederreiter.

Group B

Finland
The Finns have the most medals of any country in best-on-best Olympics with five. Three of those are bronze (1998, 2010, 2014), one silver (2006) and one gold (2022). Barkov is the key to this team (and perhaps a focal point of the tournament) as the back-to-back NHL Selke winner (awarded to the forward who demonstrated the most skill in the defensive side of the game) will have the tall order of shutting down the top offensive stars in the event. Barkov has shown he’s up to any task, as he’s been an integral part of the Florida Panthers’ back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. Count out the Finns at your own peril.

Italy
It will be 20 years between appearances at the Olympics for Italy, which competed in 1998 (12^th place) and, at home, during the 2006 Turin Games (11^th place). The roster will be dominated by players competing in European leagues, with three of the initial six on the team from the Austrian-based ICE Hockey League (defenceman Luca Zanatta and forwards Tommy Purdeller and Daniel Mantenuto). The Italians should get a major spark from playing in front of their home crowd and the game of hockey is sure to benefit and grow as a result.

Slovakia
The Slovaks’ best finish at an Olympics featuring NHLers came in Vancouver in 2010, when they lost the bronze game to Sweden to finish fourth. Four years earlier, Slovakia took fifth place. Getting to the medal round in 2026 won’t be guaranteed with Finland and Sweden standing in the way. But this Slovak team should be incredibly fun to watch, with Slovakia boasting the top two players taken in the 2022 Draft (Juraj Slafkovsky and Simon Nemec). Martin Pospisil is another player to watch as he always makes the game tough on opponents.

Sweden
The Swedes won gold the last time the Winter Olympics were in Italy (2006) and will try and capture some of that magic again. An all-world defence will be key to Sweden success, with Rasmus Dahlin and Victor Hedman anchoring what may be the top defensive core. That’s not to take away from the skill up front, with Adrian Kempe and William Nylander both poised for strong tournaments. One of Filip Gustavsson, Jacob Markstrom and Linus Ullmark should carry the load in net and provide stable goaltending for the team.

Group C

Denmark
The 2026 Games will be just the second time Denmark has competed in the men’s Olympic hockey tournament, with the other appearance coming in 2022 where the Danes finished seventh. A wide-open Group C could see the Danes advance to the quarter-finals and, for that to happen, goaltender Frederik Andersen will need to be brilliant. There’s some good skill on this team led by Lars Eller and Nikolaj Ehlers and perhaps the Danes pick up where they left off at the 2025 Worlds, when Denmark finished fourth. That run will always be best remembered for Denmark’s shocking 2-1 semi-final win over Canada.

Germany
The Germans’ best Olympic success came at the 2018 Games when they won silver. Four times, Germany competed in a best-on-best Olympics, finishing ninth in 1998, eighth in 2002, 10^th in 2006 and 11^th in 2010. But a team that boasts the reigning Best NHL Player Espy Award winner Draisaitl may expect to improve on those performances. Throw in proven backstopper Philipp Grubauer and young NHL stars Moritz Seider and Tim Stutzle and you’ve got a group that should push for a spot in the medal round.

Latvia
It’s always a safe bet that the Latvians will have a strong cheering section or two at any international tournament. Let’s see if the vocal and fun Latvian crowds can help push their heroes beyond the preliminary round. Latvia qualified for the quarter-finals just once in a best-on-best Olympics (finishing eighth in 2014). The 2026 roster is built from goaltending out, with Elvis Merzlikins and Arturs Silovs expected to duel it out for the starter’s role. Goals may be hard to come by for this group, but there is a bit of NHL punch up front in Teddy Blueger and Zemgus Girgensons.

United States
It’s somewhat hard to believe that Team USA has never captured gold in an Olympics that includes NHLers. The Americans lost the 2002 and 2010 gold games to Canada and many fans and pundits alike would love one more meeting of the hockey powers. The 2024 4 Nations Faceoff reignited the US-Canada rivalry thanks in large part to the Tkachuk brothers, Brady and Matthew, who always bring passion and fire (and maybe some after-the-whistle antics) to the ice. On paper, the Americans may be the team to beat, with the Tkachuks joined by superstars Jack Eichel and Matthews up front, and Quinn Hughes on defence.