The countdown is nearly over. Come February 11th, hockey fans worldwide will witness the return of NHL players to the Olympic stage in Milan for the 2026 Winter Games. This marks a significant milestone, as it will be the first time since the 2014 Sochi Olympics that these elite athletes will compete for the coveted gold medal.

This event will also be the first top-tier international tournament featuring 12 of the world’s premier hockey nations since Sochi. The anticipation is palpable, especially following last February’s successful 4 Nations Face-Off. This smaller tournament, organized by the NHL, featured just four countries, yet delivered thrilling hockey and stirred national pride. The United States triumphed over Canada 3-1 in a heated round-robin match, only for Canada to secure a 3-2 overtime victory in the championship game.

However, the style of play in Milan will differ from the 4 Nations Face-Off. While the latter adhered to NHL rules, the Olympic tournament will be governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation’s regulations. These rules impose stricter penalties for fighting, with any five-minute major for fighting resulting in an automatic game misconduct.

Despite these differences, the return of NHL players to the Olympics promises a high level of intensity and skill. It’s a rare occurrence, happening for just the sixth time in history. NHL players first joined the Olympic competition in Nagano, Japan, in 1998, when Czechia took home the gold. Canada emerged victorious in 2002 in Salt Lake City, Sweden clinched the title in Turin in 2006—the last time the Olympics were held in Italy—and Canada again claimed gold in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014.

The absence of NHL players in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics was a significant disappointment. The league’s owners opted out, citing concerns over the lack of direct economic benefits, potential player injuries, and the challenge of pausing the season during crucial playoff races. This decision left players disheartened. However, when the next labor agreement was negotiated amid the pandemic in 2020, the players ensured that the chance to compete in both the 2022 and 2026 Olympics was included.

They first joined the festivities in Nagano, Japan in 1998, where Czechia claimed gold. Canada was victorious in 2002 in Salt Lake City, Sweden won in Turin in 2006 — the last time the Olympics were held in Italy — and then Canada reclaimed gold on home soil in Vancouver in 2010 and in Sochi in 2014.

After that, the league’s owners decided not to send players to Pyeongchang in 2018, citing a lack of direct economic benefits, fear of injuries and an unwillingness to shutter their season for three weeks just as playoff races were heating up. Players were devastated by the move, and when the next labor agreement was negotiated during the pandemic in 2020, they fought to include the opportunity to play in 2022 and 2026.

The virus had other ideas, however, and a widespread outbreak at the end of 2021 led to the league pulling its players from the Beijing Games in February of 2022.

This time around, amid a broader international push by the NHL that has seen the league mount games as far afield as Australia, league and players are aligned.

When to Watch

The NHL’s regular-season schedule will shut down from Feb. 6-24.

The 12 competing Olympic nations are divided into three pools of four.

They’ll play their three group-stage games from Feb. 11-15, then playoffs will begin on Feb. 17. The semi-finals are set for Feb. 20, with the gold-medal game on Feb. 22.

Here’s the Group C round-robin schedule for Team USA:

• Thurs, Feb. 12: USA vs. Latvia, 3:10 p.m. ET
• Sat, Feb. 14: USA vs. Denmark: 3:10 p.m. ET
• Sun, Feb. 15: USA vs. Germany: 3:10 p.m. ET

Here are the other groups:

• Group A: Canada, Czechia, Switzerland, France
• Group B: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Italy

Since Russia invaded Ukraine just after the conclusion of the Beijing Olympics in 2022, Russia and Belarus have been banned from international hockey competition at all levels. That ban remains in place for Milan-Cortina.

How to Watch

In the U.S., NBC is the flagship broadcaster partner for all Olympic events. Television coverage will be spread across NBC, CNBC and USA Network, with livestreams available on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC app and the NBC Sports app.

Who to Watch

The U.S. team is headlined by brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, who led the charge at the 4 Nations Faceoff. Matthew is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Florida Panthers and has just returned to action after missing the first three months of the season while rehabbing after surgery to repair a core-muscle injury. Younger brother Brady is the captain of the Ottawa Senators.

The roster is largely similar to the group that finished second at 4 Nations. It also features young two defensemen who skated in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing before reaching the NHL — Brock Faber and Jake Sanderson — and five players who were part of the team that won the first U.S. gold since 1933 at the IIHF world championship in May: forwards Clayton Keller and Tage Thompson, defensemen Zach Werenski and Jackson LaCombe and goalie Jeremy Swayman.

Here are the national-team affiliations of some of the league’s other top stars:

Team Canada: Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Macklin Celebrini

Team Czechia: David Pastrnak, Martin Necas, Tomas Hertl

Team Finland: Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho, Miro Heiskanen

Team Germany: Leon Draisaitl, Tim Stutzle, Moritz Seider

Team Sweden: Lucas Raymond, William Nylander, Mika Zibanejad

Click here for the full rosters for all 12 nations.

Should We Expect a Canada / U.S. Final?

We’ve seen the Canada/USA gold-medal matchup twice before with NHL players — in Salt Lake City in 2002 and in Vancouver in 2010, with Canada seizing gold both times. But when single-game playoff eliminations begin, anything can happen, especially if a goalie gets hot.

With Filip Gustavsson, Jesper Wallstedt and Jacob Markstrom, Sweden has arguably the strongest trio of netminders between the pipes. Other young NHL players in 2026 Olympics who have previously made waves in net on the international stage include Czechia’s Lukas Dostal and Latvia’s Arturs Silovs.