Forget needing good 200-foot players to win. At the 2026 Olympics, coaches will be looking for their countries’ best 196.85-foot hockey players.

As reported by The Athletic on Tuesday, the playing surface for games at Santagiulia Arena at the Milan-Cortina Olympics is expected to be 60 meters by 26 meters (196.85 feet by 85.3 feet), more than three feet shorter and only a few inches wider than the dimensions required in NHL arenas.

The rink was supposed to feature NHL-sized ice, per an agreement between the NHL, NHL Players’ Association, International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation.

The IIHF has approved the change in specs, according to a source familiar with the decision, and several members of Team Canada have said they were aware of it. Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, already named to the Canadian roster, told The Athletic that players on that team have known since the summer, and Canada general manager Doug Armstrong has publicly said a few times since September that the rink in Italy would be smaller than a normal NHL rink.

The news took others by surprise.

“I found out the same time as you,” Minnesota Wild forward and likely U.S. Olympian Matt Boldy said Thursday.

Boldy’s teammate and fellow Team USA hopeful Brock Faber said he first saw the dimensions on Instagram on Tuesday and initially didn’t know if the report was even true. New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad, a hopeful for Sweden’s roster, hadn’t heard about it until asked Wednesday.

Players weren’t the only ones in the U.S. camp unaware of the unique rink size. Team USA coach Mike Sullivan made it clear Thursday morning that he didn’t know if the specs were accurate, saying he hoped “it’s not the case.”

It also seemed to be news to the NHLPA and the NHL on Tuesday. An NHL source Tuesday morning told The Athletic that the dimensions being cited were “inaccurate” before another source later in the day said the league was “looking into it.”

The union also told The Athletic it was looking into it on Tuesday.

Neither the NHL nor the NHLPA had followed up with a statement by Thursday evening, but they do have a regularly scheduled meeting with the IIHF and the IOC on Friday morning, per league sources, and could be waiting to receive updates there.

One league source did tell The Athletic on Wednesday that the differences were insignificant and the league did not have safety concerns.

What about players and coaches? What do they think of the shorter surface?

Players at the best-on-best 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament earlier this year spoke about the lack of time and space during competition. That could now be even more dramatic at the Olympics. A difference of 3.15 feet might seem minimal, but multiple players — both Olympic hopefuls and not — expect it to have an impact on play.

MacKinnon said it definitely will.

“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.”

“(The space difference) might not seem like a lot, but it is a lot, especially with guys like Cale (Makar), Quinn Hughes,” New York Islanders forward Jonathan Drouin added. “Those guys need every little inch of room they can get to make those moves. Same thing with (MacKinnon), Connor (McDavid).”

“Time and space is so limited already, and to take that away is going to be even more,” added Islanders teammate Bo Horvat, who could make Canada’s roster. “It’ll be tight-checking hockey for sure.”

“I’m just flabbergasted a bit of how they handled that,” German Olympian Nico Sturm said. “It’s just an arbitrary size. Either you make it Olympic or you make it NHL-sized. Now it’s neither.”

The issue has even become a talking point among former NHL players.

@rayferraro21 where are they going to remove the 3.5 feet? The neutral zone? Already pretty tight in that region with the size and speed of these players. Or do they remove 1.75 feet from each end zone? Or a combination of both. You remember tight confines of Boston Garden?

— Chris Pronger (@chrispronger) December 4, 2025

Past Olympic rinks have been the same length as this one (60 meters) but much wider at 30 meters — so larger than an NHL rink overall. Sullivan, the Rangers coach, said he would have hoped for a bigger rink, not the other way around.

“The NHL rink is too small as it is when you think in terms of the evolution of the game and the evolution as people,” he said. “We’re playing on the same-sized ice surface that the players were playing (on) in the 50s. The guys playing today are bigger, stronger and faster than they’ve ever been. … Even though physically (the ice size) hasn’t changed, the playing surface gets smaller every single year.”

Rangers defenseman Urho Vaakanainen, who hopes to make the Finnish team, expects there to be “zero time and space” with the smaller dimensions. In his eyes, it will probably make the defensive part of the game easier.

“You’re probably going to be in people’s faces all the time,” he said. “In terms of defending, I don’t mind it. Let’s say in breakouts, everyone is going to be on top of you right away.”

Vaakanainen certainly expects to notice the difference. He does when playing on larger ice sheets in Europe, after all.

It likely won’t take long for players to adapt. In the old days of the NHL, many arenas had their own specifications, and there have been games played in the Global Series played at arenas, like in Stockholm, where the rink isn’t exactly 200 feet by 85 feet.

“I think it suits my game,” Sturm, the Wild center, said. “I like to close in really fast. For guys who probably want more ice and space, they probably won’t love it. The guys that play in Europe for most of the year, they’ll struggle.”

“It’s not a big deal,” added Avalanche forward Martin Nečas, who has already been named to the Czech team. “To me, I think it’s better that it’s smaller than if it’ll be bigger. I think it’s going to be even better for the fans. It’s going to be super quick, super fast-paced. I’m excited.”

Sullivan wondered which part of the ice would be smaller. Horvat heard the cuts will come in the neutral zone.

“Being able to gain speed through the neutral zone or making it past the neutral zone is going to be a little bit different,” Horvat said.

“So there’s not going to be too many plays to be made through the neutral zone,” Sturm mused. “You have to try to just get the puck in the zone probably.”

Zibanejad wondered if anyone would have noticed if the news hadn’t come out.

“Now you’re probably going to have a lot of answers (from players) maybe overthinking it,” he said.

“I have no clue, honestly,” said Swedish hopeful and Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson. “It might be good. It might be bad. I don’t know.”

Despite the difference from typical NHL- or Olympic-sized rinks, MacKinnon’s excitement remains unchanged.

“It’ll change things,” he said, “but who cares?”

— Julian McKenzie contributed to this report.