Short rinks cut no ice with NHL players, including standout McDavid

TORONTO –

Canadian standout Connor McDavid and a number of his NHL peers are not concerned that the ice rinks for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics will be smaller than what they are used to playing on.

When NHL players mark their return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014, they will do so on sheets of ice that are more than three feet shorter than the NHL’s standard layout and slightly wider.

Given the high speed and intensity of the game, the smaller playing surfaces sparked safety concerns, but McDavid, considered the greatest player on the planet, is unfazed.