Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Don’t expect emotion to overtake any Team Canada vs. Team USA hockey game, as one important rule may force cooler heads even with such a heated rivalry.
A repeat of the heated intensity of the 2025 4 Nations faceoff may have to be neutered for the 2026 Olympics.
The 4 Nations, marked by both the first major rivalry between the two major North American powerhouses, alongside ongoing political tensions between Canada and the United States, heightened the already furious rivalry between the two national teams.
The tournament was overshadowed by the ongoing tension surrounding the USA and Canada, with both games sharing a quarrel of boos between both country’s fans in their respective home games, in the first Canada/USA game having three fights in the first nine seconds.
Fighting may not be on the centre stage for the two nations, or for any country, this time around, despite the continued heated political climate surrounding the rivalry, as the Olympics will likely diminish the chance of a fight.
Olympics unlikely to see fighting in accordance with rules
The Olympics will likely not see a repeat of the sheer aggressiveness of the 4 Nations, as the Olympic games discourage fighting heavily, with hefty punishment for a fight breaking out.
Unlike the NHL which has fighting as a major, a fight in Olympic Ice Hockey is an automatic ejection. The rule means that any engaging person in a fight will face ejection, as well as possible suspension in the games.
Players who willingly participate in a brawl/ fight, so-called willing combatants, shall be penalized accordingly by the Referee(s)
and may be ejected from the game. Further Supplementary Discipline may be imposed.
A fight shall be deemed to have occurred when at least one (1) Player punches or attempts to punch an opponent repeatedly or when two (2) Players wrestle in such a manner as to make it difficult for the Linespersons to intervene and separate the combatants.
Any Player who persists in continuing or attempting to continue a “fight or altercation” after they have been ordered by the Referee to stop, or who resists a Linesperson in the discharge of their duties shall, at the discretion of the Referee, incur at least a major penalty
(‘Fighting’) plus an automatic game misconduct penalty (5’+Match Penalty) in addition to any additional penalties imposed.
Athletes on both of the men’s hockey teams haven’t spoken on the surrounding politics between Canada and the United States, as in the 4 Nations both players and staff expressed the political situation wasn’t in play.
Members of the American team expressed a phone call held before the 4 Nations final with U.S. President Donald Trump as being “apolitical”, which as USA GM Bill Guerin mentioned included references by the President to the proposed annexation of Canada.
While tensions between the two countries haven’t eased, a some 5K miles away without a vehement audience at arm’s length, one of hockey’s great rivalries will have to see it’s players on it’s best behavior.
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