The day is finally here, today the men’s portion of the ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics kicks off. Finland will take on Slovakia in the first game at 8:40 a.m. MT with a meeting between
Sweden and host Italy following at 1:10 p.m. MT. Team Canada, Czechia and USA begin their schedules on Thursday with the former two facing each other right off the bat.
With eight members of the Colorado Avalanche set to participate, there is a lot of intrigue and reasons to follow the action overseas. Therefore, we have identified the five biggest questions which will be answered by the time the gold medal is awarded on Sunday, February 22nd.
Will an Avalanche have a MVP type performance?
All eight of those Avalanche players participating in the Olympic Games could put in a performance worthy of MVP honors but really we are talking about Canada’s Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar as the possible recipients with the greatest spotlight on the world stage and role on their team. MacKinnon in particular is vying to match Avalanche boss’ gold medal winning MVP honors in 2002. Makar was named to Canada’s leadership group so the team will be looking at him for great contributions.
What is the role for Brock Nelson with team USA?
Bill Guerin and the USA Hockey brain trust are going to have to defend leaving Jason Robertson and his 32 goals at home in Dallas if they don’t win gold but considering Brock Nelson is on the verge of scoring 30 goals himself there shouldn’t be a comparison between the two. Still, Nelson might find himself in more of a bottom six role at the tournament even with the scoring touch he’s enjoyed this year in Colorado. Big moments can come from the bottom six, but if Nelson really going to play the whole tournament on the fourth line?
Can Martin Nečas carry team Czechia?
It’s fallen under the raider how big these Olympics are for Avalanche star forward Martin Nečas. He has an opportunity in front of him to make a big impact for his home country. He has always been a producer for Czechia, scoring seven points in his last two appearances at the World Championship and is primed to grab the spotlight in Milan.
How healthy is Gabe Landeskog?
Ever since he left the January 3rd game in Florida, attention turned to if Gabe Landeskog was going to be a participant a month later at the Olympics. Not only has he made it to Milan but the Avalanche captain has been named Sweden’s captain as well, quite an honor. As he takes to the ice today for that first round-robin game, everyone will be watching closely to see if Landeskog looks like he’s a full-go and recovered from the injury.
Can Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Kiviranta make us root for team Finland?
Perhaps the ultimate underdogs of the “big five” nations, Finland was mostly written off when Alesander Barkov suffered an early season injury. Still, the team brings star talent to Milan led by old friend Mikko Rantanen but also current Avalanche forwards Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Kiviranta. Finland plays a cohesive team game and seems to produce more than the sum of their parts, which puts them in a position to surprise at the Olympic Games.
