MILAN — NHL players are scheduled to land in Milan early in the morning Saturday and start practicing within hours.
It’s the logistical aspect of getting around 150 players from the U.S. to the 2026 Winter Games, where for the next two weeks they’ll try to reach the gold medal game Feb. 22. The players and other NHL personnel are traveling on chartered planes.
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While NHL owners may grumble about the possibility of injuries, it’s a win for the sport to have the game’s best players back at the Olympics for the first time since 2014. (The 2018 Olympics in South Korea were a no-go for insurance and travel reasons, and the NHL pulled out of the 2022 Olympics in Beijing because of the pandemic.)
Here’s what to know.
When and where does Olympic men’s hockey get underway
The first practices run all day Sunday, with Latvia holding the first slot at 10 a.m. in Milan (4 a.m. ET). The U.S. has a slot from 6-7:30 p.m., and Canada from 7:45 to 9:15 p.m. There are practices through Feb. 10. They’re vital to getting everybody on the same page as quickly as possible, and to turbo-charge team bonding. As far as arenas, Santa Giulia Arena is the primary one, while Rho Ice Hockey Arena is a temporary venue.
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When do the games begin
Games begin Feb. 11, with the marquee team in action that day being Sweden against Italy. In preliminaries, the U.S. plays Latvia Feb. 12, Denmark Feb. 14, and Germany Feb. 15.
Brady Tkachuk and Auston Matthews of Team USA react following a loss to Team Canada in overtime in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game at TD Garden on Feb. 20, 2025 in Boston, Mass.
How many teams are there
The participating national teams are Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S. Host Italy is the only team without an NHL player on its roster. The teams are divided into fields of four. Group A has Canada, Czechia, France and Switzerland. Group B is Finland, Italy, Slovakia and Sweden. Group C has Denmark, Germany, Latvia and the U.S.
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All 12 teams play three preliminary games in their respective groups, then move on to a single-elimination playoff that will conclude with the gold medal game Feb. 22.
Who is there from the NHL
All 32 NHL teams have a player going, but some teams have quite a few more than others. Take the Florida Panthers (10, representing five teams) and the Vegas Golden Knights (Nine, representing seven countries).The Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning each have eight players going.
Here’s the full list.
Boston Bruins
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Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
Montreal Canadiens
Nashville Predators
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
San Jose Sharks
Seattle Kraken
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Oscar Fisker Molgaard (DEN)
St. Louis Blues
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
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Oliver Ekman-Larsson (SWE)
Utah Mammoth
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 148 NHL players arrive at Olympics today and have no time to rest
