For the first time in 12 years, the NHL is participating in the Olympics, and Team USA is stacked with talent as they try for their third-ever gold medal.
Led by stars like Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel, the U.S. squad is hoping that they can win a gold medal for the first time in 46 years, but the road ahead will be tough as they face prodigious talent from countries like Canada, Sweden and Finland.
Here’s what you need to know about the road ahead for the U.S.
How can I watch Team USA’s first game?
The United States will open their 2026 Olympics on Thursday when they take on Latvia. You can stream the game in the player below.
Who are some of the biggest stars on Team USA’s roster?
The American squad is buoyed by several high-profile scorers, including Matthews, who has 26 goals for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Eichel, who has 68 points for the Vegas Golden Knights, the most of any American-born player this season.
The American squad also boasts multiple 30-goal scorers on its squad, including Matt Boldy and Tage Thompson.
The team also boasts a solid blue line, including Zach Werenski and Quinn Hughes, and their goaltending group includes Connor Hellebuyck and Jake Oettinger.
What does their schedule look like?
After their opening game Thursday against Latvia, the United States will face Denmark on Saturday, with puck drop set for 2:10 p.m. Central time.
They’ll wrap up group play on Sunday when they face Germany, with the game also starting at 2:10 p.m.
The men’s qualification playoffs will take place on Tuesday, and the quarterfinals will get underway Wednesday. The semifinal games will be played on Friday, February 20, and the medal games will be played on February 21 and 22.
Who are some of their biggest rivals?
Sweden is arguably the top squad in Group B, boasting stars like William Nylander, Gabriel Landeskog and Victor Hedman.
Canada is also completely stacked with all-star talent, with defensemen like Cale Makar and Devon Toews, star forwards like Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, and a slew of young talented players that represent the team’s next generation, like Macklin Celebrini, Seth Jarvis, and several others.
Finland is the reigning gold medalist in men’s hockey, and this time around they’ll have their own contingent of NHL stars, including Sebastian Aho, Miiko Rantanen and Miro Heiskanen.
Has the U.S. ever won gold before in men’s hockey?
The United States has won two gold medals in men’s hockey, but neither occurred when the team was using NHL players, with the league participating beginning in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano.
The last American triumph was the “Miracle on Ice” team in 1980, where they defeated the Soviet Union in an iconic game in Lake Placid.
Prior to that the U.S. team had won a gold medal in Squaw Valley in 1960.
In more recent times the U.S. won silver medals in 2002 in Salt Lake City and in 2010 in Vancouver, both times falling to Canada in the gold medal game.