Ryan S. ClarkCloseRyan S. ClarkESPN NHL reporterRyan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.Follow on X and Kristen ShiltonCloseKristen ShiltonESPN NHL reporterKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.Follow on XMultiple AuthorsFeb 11, 2026, 07:00 AM ET
play1:13P.K. Subban’s biggest question for Team USA heading into the OlympicsP.K. Subban’s biggest question for Team USA heading into the Olympics
What are the USA men’s hockey team’s chances for gold? (1:53)Greg Wyshynski previews Team USA men’s hockey’s chances at gold ahead of the start of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. (1:53)
P.K. Subban’s biggest question for Team USA heading into the OlympicsP.K. Subban’s biggest question for Team USA heading into the Olympics
Teams representing 12 countries will compete beginning Wednesday, with most of the countries featuring NHL players for the first time since the 2014 Games in Sochi.
Can Team USA win the gold medal for the first time since 1980? Or will the 2026 Games be the 10th golden victory for Canada? And which of the other nations are most likely to earn a spot on the medal stand?
Group A: Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, France Group B: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Italy Group C: United States, Germany, Latvia, Denmark
ESPN reporters Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton break down the strengths and weaknesses of each team, while analyst Sean Allen identifies two best bets for the tourney.
Defensemen: Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings), Thomas Harley (Dallas Stars), Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche), Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg Jets), Colton Parayko (St. Louis Blues), Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia Flyers), Shea Theodore (Vegas Golden Knights), Devon Toews (Colorado Avalanche)
Goaltenders: Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues), Darcy Kuemper (Los Angeles Kings), Logan Thompson (Washington Capitals)
Strengths: Canada has a formidable forward group populated by the game’s top goal scorers. It’s the type of star power no other country can match: Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, Macklin Celebrini … it’ll be pick your poison for the opposition on how to shut down the Canadian top six.
And it’s not just those big names either — Canada has depth too, with Tom Wilson joining Sam Bennett to give the Canadians added punch (and scoring). There is championship pedigree with veterans like Mark Stone and Brad Marchand filling out the roster.
Canada’s back end is well-balanced as well, with a mix of elite talents (like Cale Makar) and utility skaters like Travis Sanheim. The Canadians should, in theory, be able to do it all.
Thompson has had the best season of those three (holding a .912 SV%) but Kuemper, like Binnington, has won championships before. Will that factor in? That Canadians feel the least locked in at this all-important position and that could come back to bite them. — Shilton
Goaltenders: Lukas Dostal (Anaheim Ducks), Karel Vejmelka (Utah Mammoth), Dan Vladar (Philadelphia Flyers)
Strengths: Czechia is bringing the heat to Milan, by way of an elite forward group that will challenge all comers in the tournament. Led by talents like David Pastrnak, Tomas Hertl and Martin Necas, there is an embarrassment of riches for coach Radim Rulik to sift through as he narrows down these line combinations.
That should also translate to excellent special teams. Czechia’s power play can include its top snipers and complementary players like Radek Faska, Filip Hronek or Ondrej Palat all bringing unique elements to the table. This country’s goaltending is also intriguing; veteran Dan Vladar (who is having an excellent season with the Philadelphia Flyers) will support rising stars Lukas Dostal and Karel Vejmelka. Any one of them could excel in the crease — and that’s a good thing.
Weaknesses: The loss of Pavel Zacha to injury right before the Games was a tough blow for Czechia’s overall depth. The projected top-six skater was replaced by Filip Chlapik from Sparta Prague in the Czech league, who has just 57 NHL games on his résumé from 2017-2021 with the Senators.
Czechia is also not as sturdy on the back end as it is up front. After Hronek and Radko Gudas, there aren’t many standout names patrolling the blue line. Aside from David Spacek, a 22-year-old who just made his NHL debut, the rest of Czechia’s D corps has been playing overseas.
The potential instability on its back end might be Czechia’s undoing if the team is stymied at all offensively. This is a country that has made noise internationally of late though, winning gold at the 2024 men’s world championship. Is there enough of that know-how — and capability — outside of its star skaters? — Shilton
Defensemen: Phillip Bruggisser, Nicholas B. Jensen, Jesper Jensen Aabo, Anders Koch, Matias Lassen, Markus Lauridsen, Oliver Lauridsen
Goaltenders: Frederik Andersen (Carolina Hurricanes), Frederik Dichow, Mads Sogaard (Ottawa Senators)
Strengths: The Danes have two elite forwards in Nikolaj Ehlers and Lars Eller who are dangerous all over the ice and carry plenty of international experience to share with their club. They should be balanced by a decent depth of skaters up front with a mix of veteran shooters (like Nick Olesen, who had five goals and 12 points in 10 games at the 2025 world championship) and up-and-coming faces.
Denmark’s one-two punch in net should serve it well, too; veteran Frederik Andersen has struggled this season in the NHL but was superb for the Danes at the 2024 Olympic qualifier. Mads Sogaard has proved himself to be a capable backup, and can step in if needed (assuming Andersen does take the reins as Denmark’s No. 1). The Danes’ projected by-committee approach across the board could serve them well in unseating an unexpected opponent or two.
Strengths: Finland might have the best chance in this tournament to prove the credo that defense wins championships. The Finns’ back end is stacked; Miro Heiskanen will be their anchor, Esa Lindell is calm under pressure, and Olli Maatta, Niko Mikkola and Rasmus Ristolainen all bring size, experience and maturity to their roles.
Finland can also tap into more everyday familiarity than most clubs given four of its best players — Heiskanen, Lindell, Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz — all suit up for the Dallas Stars. Rantanen will be a focal point of the Finnish offense along with Sebastian Aho, but the real heavy lifting will be done on Finland’s blue line and by projected starter Juuse Saros in the crease.
Weaknesses: The Finns did not show well at the 4 Nations Face-Off, finishing last with no regulation wins. That roster did not include Heiskanen, Jani Hakanpaa or Ristolainen, though.
Defensemen: Yohann Auvitu, Jules Boscq, Enzo Cantagallo, Florian Chakiachvili, Pierre Crinon, Hugo Gallet, Enzo Gueby, Thomas Thiry
Strengths: France has an element of surprise few countries can claim — there is just one current NHL skater (Montreal Canadiens forward Alexandre Texier) on the roster, and only one defenseman (Yohann Auvitu) boasts any time in the league. That will make Texier a prominent part of France’s overall success, but he’ll be supported by Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who was a commendable bottom-six skater throughout a 10-year NHL career.
The French will have a capable veteran in Julian Junca protecting the twine as he has done throughout successful tenures playing in France and Slovakia (this season alone Junca holds a .925 save percentage backstopping HK Dukla Trencin).
Weaknesses: The best France can hope for in Milan is to keep games tight and make the other countries in Group A — Canada and Czechia, specifically — work hard for their victories.
Defensemen: Leon Gawanke, Korbinian Geibel, Lukas Kalble, Jonas Muller, Moritz Muller, Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings), Fabio Wagner, Kai Wissmann
Strengths: Any team that has Leon Draisaitl at 1C (or anywhere else, really) is going to be dangerous. He’s a one-man wrecking ball and is superb defensively, letting him go end-to-end with a single game-changing shift. Those early-tournament games can be a free-for-all as countries settle in, and Germany could use its potency up front to advantage.
Tim Stutzle and JJ Peterka have both had strong seasons, and are capable of scoring the timely goals that can make a difference for Germany.
The Germans’ goaltending has strong potential too; Maximilian Franzreb guided Germany to a silver medal at the 2023 world championship, and Phillip Grubauer has been a stalwart in net for Germany since his World Junior days, with five world championship appearances to date.
Weaknesses: Germany’s defense corps has only one NHL skater (but it’s a good one): Detroit’s Moritz Seider. He’s another five-time player for Germany at the worlds, winning silver in 2023, and it will fall on the 2022 Calder Trophy winner to power his country’s back end.
Kai Wissmann — who signed a one-year, entry-level deal with Boston in 2022 but never appeared in the NHL — was an interesting name for Germany’s blue line, but he suffered an Achilles injury in the offseason and his status for Milan remains TBD. It is hard to say the Germans have enough depth to be highly competitive on that side of the puck.
Given the competition in Group C, it will be Germany’s offense making or breaking its chances of advancing. But how will its back end handle the heat against other country’s game breakers? — Shilton
Defensemen: Dylan Di Perna, Gregory Di Tomaso, Daniel Glira, Thomas Larkin, Phil Pietroniro, Jason Seed, Alex Trivellato, Luca Zanatta
Weaknesses: Italy might have the most concerns of any team in the men’s field. The Italians are the lowest ranked men’s team in the IIHF rankings that’s playing in the Olympics. It’s a nation that hasn’t finished greater than 10th place at a major tournament since the 1997 IIHF Men’s World Championship.
And of course there’s the lack of NHL players. Not that having a roster filled with NHL players is a guarantee for success, but the Azzurri are the only team that doesn’t have a single player in the NHL. Not only that, there isn’t a single player on Italy’s roster that has ever played a game in the NHL. — Clark