‘Not going to play’: After 12 years, NHL players are back at the Olympics. But their rink is too small
Ice hockey at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic Games is set to be a headline act.
National Hockey League (NHL) players are due to return after a 12-year hiatus and missing two rounds of the Olympic cycle, however they may be skating in tricky conditions.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has confirmed that the venues set to host both the women’s and men’s games – Santagiulia Arena and Milan Rho Fiera exhibition centre – are currently nearly a metre too short in length.
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And at the current rate of construction, neither arena is on track to hit the target of being ready for February.
NHL players could wait another four years for Olympic experience as the Italian ice rinks go under scrutiny. Getty
With nearly 33 games set to headline the ice hockey campaign in Italy, this comes as a surprise for most in the sport.
It could have implications in the terms that the NHL and NHLPA (the players’ association) set out in the return, players could bow out of their first appearance since Sochi 2014.
But after the agonisingly long wait, most players who have never had the chance to represent their country on the Olympic stage will play on whatever sheet of ice they can.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly fronted the media on Tuesday afternoon AEDT, admitting that the situation had a very straightforward rule of thumb.
“Obviously if the players feel like the ice is unsafe, we’re not going to play,” Daly told reporters during the NHL’s Board of Governors meetings.
“It’s as simple as that.
“I think both we and the players’ association have made the IIHF very aware that when we participate in the Olympics in 2030, we expect it to be an NHL ice surface,” Daly added.
Sidney Crosby’s golden goal is still a Canadian hockey highlight from 2010. Sports Illustrated via Getty Ima
Fans were handed an insight into the rivalries that will dominate the Olympics during 2024’s Four Nations tournament during the normal NHL All-Star season break.
Since 1920, only two traditional powerhouses, Canada and the then-Soviet Union, have ever won consecutive Olympic men’s hockey titles.
The 12 teams heading to Milano-Cortina will have an uphill battle to fight for Olympic glory.
But before they hit the ice, here are five storylines from one of the most anticipated sports at the Olympics.
‘There is no backup plan’
Ah, the ice rink woes.
The key topic of multiple discussions in the NHL’s return to the Olympics, the rink being built is not up to standard.
The belief is that players may refuse to play in Milano-Cortina, the tentative agreement between the NHL, NHLPA and IIHF highlights the need for the ice to be built to NHL standard.
The ice rink has been built a metre smaller in length than NHL dimensions. Getty
The IIHF approved a sheet of ice measuring 60 metres by 26 metres in Milan, which is just under a metre shorter and a few centimetres wider than the standard NHL dimensions of 60.96 metre by 25.91 metre.
Thus, the violation of these set-out terms has people wondering if players may walk back their agreement to play.
Hockey Canada was aware of the smaller ice surface approved for use in Milan and advised players during its Olympic orientation camp in August about the issue.
The ice hockey rink, set to host NHL players, is nearly a metre shorter than expected. Getty
However, multiple potential Olympians from other countries said they only found out about the difference recently.
Canadian star player Nathan MacKinnon believes the smaller surface will be noticeable when players get out there in a game setting.
“If you have a foot less space, it can be a big difference,” MacKinnon said.
“If you get a foot closer in the slot, I think that could be a big difference. But it’s the same for everybody.”
Can USA usurp the hockey throne?
Canada versus the United States is set to be a blockbuster rivalry. It always has been.
Hockey is Canada’s sport.
Team Canada after bringing home gold at their home Olympics. Getty
Sidney Crosby, team Canada’s captain for the 2026 Games, is the face of Olympic hockey in the region.
His 2010 ‘golden goal’ against the USA sent the country into overdrive and is still played in highlight reels to this day.
But, 15 years on from that fateful night – the United States is now more formidable than ever.
It’s widely reported that the USA has a stronger foundation of younger players in the league, fuelled by national programs and the growing strength in NCAA hockey.
Canada took top honours at the Four Nations tournament in 2024. World Cup of Hockey via Getty Im
In World Juniors, Canada has fallen out of the competition in the quarterfinals twice in consecutive years, where USA has picked up the gold medal.
So, the match-up is set to be heated.
Perhaps these stars will help end an American Olympic gold medal drought extending back to the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid.
Family bonds
Multiple sets of brothers are set to hit the ice in Milano, including the USA’s iconic Hughes brothers.
In Lake Placid, the United States created a ‘Miracle on Ice’ for the gold medal. Disney General Entertainment Con
Defenceman Quinn Hughes, also captain of Vancouver’s NHL team, was named as one of the first six on the American side.
His younger brothers Jack and Luke, who play for the New Jersey Devils, are set to join him at the Olympics.
Granted that Jack is not still injured, the 24-year-old had a freak off-ice injury to his hand and hasn’t played since November.
Also on the USA side is the Tkachuk brothers, Matthew and Brady.
Widely known in the league after their father Keith Tkachuk is a USA Hockey Hall of Famer, the two Missouri-born players were named in the first six and are the heart and soul of the American team.
The two are following in their four-time Olympic father’s footsteps.
The Tkachuk brothers are a powerhouse on the USA side. World Cup of Hockey via Getty Im
Featured on the video game NHL26 (the height of honour in the sport), the two were the instigators of multiple fights during the USA v Canada Four Nations showdown in the first seconds.
Rosters are set to be created and submitted on December 31 for the upcoming Games with a 22-man roster.
PWHL coach’s cancer diagnosis
Carla MacLeod, the coach of the Czech Republic national women’s hockey team and PWHL’s Ottawa Charge, revealed recently that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Carla MacLeod is is the current coach of the Ottawa Charge. Getty
And in the 43-year-old’s typical upbeat fashion, she wrote in a message posted by the Charge on X: “I want everyone to know that I’m going to be okay.”
MacLeod, who is from Alberta, won Olympic gold medals representing Canada in 2006 and 2010 and has since transitioned to coaching.
MacLeod took over coaching the Czech Republic in April 2022 and led the team to consecutive bronze medals, the nation’s first in senior women’s international play, at the 2022 and ’23 world championships.
The Czech Republic has finished fourth in each of the past two worlds and is considered a medal contender at an Olympic tournament that’s been dominated by the women’s US and Canada teams.
Russia had a stacked team, if they played
Russia is a powerhouse in men’s hockey, that’s a solidified fact.
Russia’s Sergei Fedorov during the men’s semi finals at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. Getty
A gold medal in 2018, as well as multiple historic matchups with USA and Canada have created bitter global feuds.
But currently, under the sanctions imposed on Russian and Belarusian athletes, Russia will not field a team in Milano-Cortina.
That means that other nations will not be playing against the very best globally.
Ovechkin’s goal passes Wayne Gretzky’s 894 goals to become the NHL all-time goal-scoring leader. Getty
Iconic names such as the NHL’s only player to score 900 goals Alexander Ovechkin, Pittsburgh Penguins champion Evgeni Malkin and back-to-back Stanley Cup goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky would have led a strong medal contender in the Games, but they will be kept off the Olympic rosters.
