The 2026 Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey tournament is heating up in Milan, with the final two days of the preliminary round wrapping up over the weekend.
Chicago Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen and Finland earned a key victory over rival Sweden on Friday, while Canada cruised to another win over Switzerland. More in the links for the latest from the Olympic competition in Italy.
Also in Blackhawks news, several prospects had a productive night, including Roman Kantserov, Marek Vanacker, Jack Pridham, Mason West, and John Mustard.
Around the league, Juraj Slafkovsky’s impressive Olympic run continued, Kevin Fiala and the Los Angeles Kings’ worst nightmare came true, and rumblings of Dougie Hamilton getting traded to Toronto.
All that & more in the Daily!
Chicago Blackhawks Recap, News & Tidbits
Chicago Hockey Now: After a disappointing upset loss to Slovakia in the opening game of the Olympics, Teuvo Teravainen and Finland bounced back with a big-time 4-1 win over Sweden on Thursday. It’s been a quiet first two contests for Teravainen, and his line was held scoreless once again versus the Swedes.
More CHN: ICYMI, Nick Lardis, Kevin Korchinski, and Brett Seney represented the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL All-Star Classic earlier this week. Lardis scored a highlight-reel shootout goal in the All-Star Challenge, and Korchinski and Seney also helped the Central Division reach the Championship match.
In KHL news, prospect Roman Kantserov became the first player in the KHL to reach 30 goals this season. Kantserov, who leads second place by four goals, is also eighth in the league with 54 points. He’s still only 21 years old.
While we’re on the topic of league leaders, Marek Vanacker scored twice in the Brantford Bulldogs 5-1 win over the Erie Otters on Friday. Vanacker leads the OHL with 37 goals and is 13th with 61 points this season. With the two tallies, Vanacker also reached 100 career goals and 200 career points for his OHL career. Congrats, Marek!
THAT’S TWO ✌️ MILESTONES FOR MAREK!!
With tonight’s goal, Marek Vanacker recorded his 100th career goal and 200th career point!
Congratulations, Marek! 👏 #BFD pic.twitter.com/FVKyDTkZMZ
— Brantford Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) February 14, 2026
Also in the OHL, Jack Pridham remains on Vanacker’s heels, as he scored his 35th goal of the season and added two assists in the Kitchener Rangers’ 4-2 win over the Kingston Frontenacs. Pridham is now tied for fourth in the league with 70 points in 51 games. He’s two goals back of Vanacker for the league lead.
In NCAA news, Julius Sumpf helped set up John Mustard for his 12th goal of the season in Providence’s 4-2 loss to Northeastern. Mustard is now third on the Friars with 21 points this season. Sumpf is fifth on the team with 18 points (3G, 15A) and is tied for the team lead in assists.
In the USHL, Mason West scored his fifth goal of the season in the Fargo Force’s 5-1 win on Friday. West has 11 points in 19 games since concluding his football career and joining the Force in early December.
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
The Athletic: The hockey rivalry between Nordic neighbours Sweden and Finland is often described as a big brother, little brother situation. Sweden, of course, is usually the big brother in this scenario, but that wasn’t the case on Friday. The showdown between the two proved why it’s one of the greatest international hockey rivalries.
TSN: The stars were shining for Canada on Friday, as Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Macklin Celebrini had multi-point efforts in a 5-1 beatdown against Switzerland. The Canadians have already clinched Group A with two regulation victories.
Sportsnet: Just days after acquiring Artemi Panarin, tragedy has struck the Los Angeles Kings. Forward Kevin Fiala was injured while representing Switzerland at the Olympics and is expected to miss the remainder of the NHL regular season. A brutal blow for the Kings.
Philly Hockey Now: The Philadelphia Flyers sent three players to the Olympics in Milan. Between Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Dan Vladar, which Flyer has the most to gain or lose in the remainder of the tournament?
Toronto Hockey Now: The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to do something big to change the trajectory of this team defensively. The Leafs need a big and mobile offensive-minded defenseman, and one of the names that keeps popping up is Dougie Hamilton of the New Jersey Devils.
More Athletic: Where will Robert Thomas and Nazem Kadri land at this year’s NHL trade deadline? Chris Johnston and James Mirtle play trade matchmaker and project where the top trade targets get dealt.
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