The Winter Olympics are in full swing in Milan, and Team USA is making every preparation to dominate on the ice. The 2026 Winter Olympics is the first time women’s professional hockey players have ever represented Team USA due to the establishment of the Professional Women’s Hockey League in North America in 2023. Similarly, this year’s contest is the first time since the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, that National Hockey League players have been allowed to compete on the men’s side.
The Olympics operate in a tournament format, similar to the International Ice Hockey Federation World Juniors tournament, which current Irish goalkeeper Nicholas Kempf starred in last month. On the women’s side in Milan, each competing country is slotted into one of two groups, each with five teams. The countries play every other squad within their group for the preliminary round, and all five countries in Group A, considered the more difficult group, advance to the quarterfinals, where the top three teams from Group B will join them.
The men’s tournament is slightly different, having three different groups. Unlike the women’s, the groups are not organized by talent or ranking. The top team of each group, along with the highest-ranked second place team will automatically advance to the quarterfinals. The remaining four spots are determined by playoffs between the eight other teams.
With the decisions allowing the best players in America to represent their country on the largest stage in the world, the teams have no intention of letting their country down.
Women’s Tournament
The women’s ice hockey competition started before the men’s, with the USA being placed in Group A. Its preliminary opponents included Czechia, Switzerland, Finland and continental rival Canada. Team USA, coached by Irish alums John Wroblewski and Josh Sciba, played all four nations, winning each game in dominating fashion.
In their first game of the tournament on Feb. 5, the United States bested Czechia 5-1. The singular goal allowed by U.S. goaltender Aerin Frankel was the only goal that an opposing team has scored on Team USA, as the succeeding three games have been shutouts for the red, white and blue.
Two days later, Team USA earned their first shutout against Finland, 5-0. The performance was replicated on Feb. 9, when the Americans emerged victorious with an identical score of 5-0 against Switzerland.
Team USA was undoubtedly proud of its play in the opening three contest, but the undisputed greatest win for them so far was the convincing victory over Canada on Feb. 10. The U.S. beat their greatest rivals 5-0, the first time in Olympic history that Canada’s women’s ice hockey team has ever been shutout.
The United States has every reason to believe they can make it to the podium, but its competition will only get stiffer from here. Sweden is the only other country to go undefeated in the tournament so far, and as such could be destined for a collision course with the U.S. in the gold medal game. Team USA must focus on earning smart wins to balance their play and continue their winning streak.
For the United States, Frankel has been outstanding in net. She has played all four games for Team USA and has only allowed the lone goal. Her performance has been impressive, but the coaching staff for Team USA must be smart about consistently playing her, for the team does not want to overplay Frankel when it comes down to medal games.
Olympic ice hockey is no stranger to Team USA captain Hilary Knight of the Seattle Torrent, and she is continuing to remind onlookers why she is affectionately called “Captain America.” In the four games so far, Knight has scored two goals and earned three assists for the United States, but her playmaking is what elevates the team and allows offensive success from the second and third lines.
For the upcoming generation of women’s athletes, Laila Edwards of the University of Wisconsin is making waves in the hockey world. She is the first African-American woman to play ice hockey for Team USA, and she has earned two goals and two assists already, one of her goals being scored in the impressive win over Canada. Edwards is one of seven collegiate players to put on the jersey for Team USA, and she is joined by three of her Badger teammates.
The USA plays host country Italy in a quarterfinal match Feb. 13 to advance to the semifinals. Italy has won two of their four games so far, but the United States are not in the business of underestimating opponents as it aims to top the podium for the first time since 2018.
Men’s Tournament
Men’s ice hockey play began on Feb. 11, however Team USA does not take the ice until the following day as they took on Latvia. The Stars and Stripes are slotted in Group C, competing against Denmark, Germany and Latvia in the preliminary rounds.
The NHL was flooded with buzz as each nation finalized their rosters for Olympic play, and there were some surprising decisions made for Team USA. Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars, the skater second overall in scoring amongst Americans, was left off the roster in a move that shocked fans. Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs was named captain, and many fans were displeased with the decision as he did not demonstrate impressive leadership skills on the ice during the 2025 4 Nations Face-off.
Regardless of who starts between the pipes, Team USA employs the best goaltending trio across the tournament. Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins, Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars and Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets were the three goaltenders selected to represent the U.S. All three are the starting goaltenders for their respective NHL teams, and have been vital in Team USA’s preparation for the tournament.
Compared to other nations with a prominent amount of NHL players on the roster such as Canada, Germany, and Sweden, the USA is in a position to be a serious competitor. Canada and Sweden have powerhouse offenses, however both sides’ goaltending and defense leave room for improvement. Germany is a solid team defensively, but their offense is mediocre. The Russian Federation is not eligible for participation in Olympic play, meaning some of the best NHL players such as Alexander Ovechkin, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Kirill Kaprizov are not involved, greatly affecting predicted outcomes of the tournament.
The men’s Olympic team has not won a medal since 2010, where they earned Silver, and has not earned a Gold since the famous Miracle on Ice in 1980. Although the women’s team has found much more recent success, winning a silver medal in 2022 and gold in 2018, both teams are determined to establish American dominance on the most important stage in the world.
