The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics may have just ended, but anticipation for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, is now in full swing — and we now know all the countries that will compete in the men’s ice hockey tournament.
Three more teams punched their ticket to the Olympics earlier today, with Latvia, Denmark, and Slovakia all qualifying. The three groups for 2026 are now officially locked in.
With NHLers expected to return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014, Canada is expected to be one of the favourites to take home gold. They will placed in Group A during the tournament alongside Sweden, Switzerland, and host nation Italy.
Team USA, one of Canada’s arch-rivals, will play in Group C alongside Russia, Slovakia, and Latvia. Lastly, Finland and Germany will highlight Group B with Czechia and Denmark.
2026 Winter Olympics Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament:
Group A: Canada 🇨🇦, Sweden 🇸🇪, Switzerland 🇨🇭, Italy 🇮🇹
Group B: Finland 🇫🇮, Germany 🇩🇪, Czechia 🇨🇿, Denmark 🇩🇰
Group C: Russia 🇷🇺*, United States 🇺🇸, Slovakia 🇸🇰, Latvia 🇱🇻
France 🇫🇷 will join if 🇷🇺 is banned.
— Hockey Worldwide (@H0ckeyWorldwide) September 1, 2024
Only one possible change could occur to these groups between now and the start of the tournament. France could take Russia’s spot in the tournament if the country is once again banned from participating in the Olympics. A decision on that is expected to come in February of 2025.
These groups feature some pretty good competition, and if NHL players wind up going, it will make for perhaps the most competitive men’s hockey Olympic tournament yet. Teams like Switzerland, Germany, and Czechia have made great strides over the past decade. They could be potential upsets for the upper echelon of nations, including Canada, the USA, Finland, Sweden, and Russia.
This could be the first time hockey fans see players like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, and David Pastrnak represent their countries in an actual best-on-best tournament.
Hockey fans will get a bit of an appetizer ahead of the Olympics as the NHL is set to host the Four Nations Face-Off tournament, a best-on-best tournament between players from Canada, the United States, Sweden, and Finland.
A schedule for pool play at the 2026 Games has not yet been released, but excitement to see what could be one of the most entertaining Olympic hockey tournaments is starting to build.