Everything you need to know about the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic hockey tournaments
The anticipation continues to build towards the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, and in particular for Olympic hockey!
Team Canada fans are eagerly awaiting what is sure to be thrilling action in both the men’s and women’s tournaments.
Here’s what you need to know:
Men‘s Tournament
When will the Milano Cortina 2026 men’s ice hockey tournament take place?
The Milano Cortina 2026 men’s Olympic ice hockey tournament will take place February 11-22, 2026.
Who is Team Canada playing in the men’s Olympic hockey tournament?
Team Canada will take to the ice for its first game on February 12, against Czechia. Canada will then face Switzerland on February 13, followed by France on February 15 to conclude its round-robin action.
Who will represent Team Canada in men’s hockey at Milano Cortina 2026?
Six players have received early nomination to represent Team Canada at Milano Cortina 2026: Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Brayden Point, Cale Makar, and Sam Reinhart.
The rest of the 25-man roster will be announced closer to the Games.
READ: Team Canada nominates first six players on men’s Olympic hockey team for Milano Cortina 2026
Of the first six players, Crosby is the only one with past Olympic experience, having represented Team Canada at Vancouver 2010 (where he scored the “golden goal”) and Sochi 2014 (where he captained Team Canada to gold).
NHL players did not participate in the PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022 editions of the Games. All six of the initial nominated players represented Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, where McDavid scored the overtime game-winner to secure the championship for Canada.
READ: Team Canada wins 4 Nations Face-Off in overtime, defeating Team USA
Team Canada will be led by coach Jon Cooper, who also led the team during the 4 Nations Face-Off. Cooper is the longest-tenured active head coach in the NHL.
What is the format of the tournament?
The men’s tournament will feature 12 teams and 30 games.
The tournament begins in a round-robin format with three groups of four teams each. After the round-robin, the top four teams (each group winner, plus one additional team with the next best record) will advance to the quarterfinals.
The remaining eight teams are re-seeded for qualification playoff games. The winners of those four qualification playoff games advance to the quarterfinals to face one of the teams that received a bye. Quarterfinal winners advance to the semifinals. Semifinal winners advance to play for gold and silver while the semifinal losers play for bronze.
Group A:
- Canada
- Switzerland
- Czechia
- France
Group B:
- Finland
- Sweden
- Slovakia
- Italy
Group C:
- USA
- Germany
- Latvia
- Denmark
What is Team Canada’s men’s ice hockey Olympic history?
Canada is the most successful country in men’s Olympic ice hockey with 16 medals, including nine gold.
Canada won the men’s tournament at six of the first seven Olympic Games in which ice hockey was included, beginning with the sport’s debut during the summer Games at Antwerp 1920.
READ: FAQ: NHL participation in the Olympic Winter Games
There was a 50-year gold medal drought after Oslo 1952 until the next gold was won at Salt Lake City 2002. But the next wait was much shorter, with back-to-back men’s gold medals at Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014.
At the two recent Olympic Games without NHL players, Canada snagged a bronze medal at PyeongChang 2018, but placed sixth at Beijing 2022.
READ: What are the differences between NHL, PWHL, and Olympic hockey rules?
What to know about Team Canada’s opponents at Milano Cortina 2026
In Team Canada’s group, Czechia last won an Olympic medal in men’s ice hockey in 2006. Switzerland’s only medals were won at home Games in St. Moritz, with bronze medals in 1948 and 1928. France has not played in the Olympic tournament since 2002.
In Group B, Finland are the defending Olympic champions from Beijing 2022, however the return of NHL players to the Olympic tournament significantly changes the landscape from the last Games. Sweden’s last men’s hockey medal was from Sochi 2014, when they lost the gold medal game to Team Canada. The Swedes last took gold at Turin 2006. Slovakia had their best Olympic result at Beijing 2022, where they won bronze. The host nation of Italy last qualified for the Olympic tournament in 2006.
The Canadians learned not to underestimate Denmark at the 2025 IIHF World Championship, where the Danes pulled off an epic comeback in the final two minutes of play to eliminate Team Canada in the quarterfinals. Milano Cortina 2026 will be Team Denmark’s second straight Olympic Games, after never having previously qualified, proving themselves an up-and-coming hockey nation. Germany’s last Olympic medal was silver at PyeongChang 2018. Latvia has participated in five Olympic men’s hockey tournaments, but has never won a medal. Team USA will be the strong favourites in Group C, coming off of gold at the 2025 IIHF World Championship. The 4 Nations Face-Off tournament showed just how formidable of an all-NHL lineup the Americans can field.
Women‘s Tournament
When will the Milano Cortina 2026 women’s ice hockey tournament take place?
The Milano Cortina 2026 women’s Olympic ice hockey tournament will take place February 5-19, 2026.
Who is Team Canada playing in the women’s Olympic hockey tournament?
Team Canada will play its first game on February 5, against Finland. That will be followed by games against Switzerland on February 7 and Czechia on February 9. Team Canada will conclude its round-robin play against archrival Team USA on February 10.
Who will represent Team Canada in women’s hockey at Milano Cortina 2026?
Unlike their counterparts on the men’s team, which saw six players receive early nomination in June 2025, no athletes have yet been nominated for the women’s Olympic team. Team training camps and the beginning of the PWHL season will be elements in the decision-making regarding the 23-woman roster. Milano Cortina 2026 will be the first Olympic women’s ice hockey tournament since the launch of the PWHL.
Team Canada’s 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship head coach Troy Ryan is set to lead the Canadians at Milano Cortina 2026.
What is the format of the tournament?
Ten teams will take part in the Olympic women’s ice hockey tournament.
The tournament begins with a round robin within each group. Organized into two tiers, Group A consists of teams ranked 1-5 by the IIHF while Group B has the teams ranked 6-10. All the teams from Group A will advance from the preliminary round along with the top three teams from Group B. The winners of the four quarterfinal games advance to the semifinals. The semifinal winners advance to play for gold and silver while the semifinal losers play for bronze.
Group A:
- Canada
- USA
- Finland
- Czechia
- Switzerland
Group B
- Japan
- Sweden
- Germany
- Italy
- France
What is Team Canada’s Olympic women’s ice hockey history?
Canada has never missed the podium in the women’s Olympic hockey tournament since it debuted at Nagano 1998. That’s right, never.
In the seven iterations of the women’s ice hockey at the Olympic Games, Team Canada and Team USA have faced off for the gold medal six times. Team Canada is the defending Olympic champion, having defeated the USA 3-2 in the final at Beijing 2022.
At Beijing 2022, captain Marie-Philip Poulin became the first ice hockey player—male or female—to score in four Olympic gold medal games.
Milano Cortina 2026 is set to be the first women’s Olympic tournament since the launch of the PWHL in 2024, so the impact of the new league on Olympic play is yet to be determined.
What to know about Team Canada’s opponents at Milano Cortina 2026
Given the historic rivalry between the two nations, it will come as no surprise that Team USA is expected to be Team Canada’s biggest obstacle at Milano Cortina 2026. While Team Canada is the defending champion, Team USA took the win over the Canadians in overtime at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship, stoking the fire for an Olympic re-match for both teams.
But Finland, Czechia, and Switzerland should not be overlooked. In particular, Finland has back-to-back bronze medals from the last two Olympic tournaments. Switzerland took bronze at Sochi 2014.
In Group B, the host team of Italy will make their first appearance in the women’s hockey tournament since the last time they hosted the Games at Turin 2006. Team France is making their first ever appearance in the women’s tournament. Team Japan is making their fourth straight Olympic appearance, but have yet to win a medal. Germany returns to the women’s tournament for the first time since 2014. Sweden is the only team other than Canada and the USA to play in an Olympic final, taking silver to Canada’s gold in 2006.
READ: Team Canada women’s hockey veteran Brianne Jenner offers wisdom and leadership
Where will Olympic hockey be held at Milano Cortina 2026?
Both the men’s and women’s ice hockey competitions will take place at both the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena and the Milano Santa Guilia Ice Hockey Arena.
