Though men’s hockey at the 2026 Olympics began after many other events had already started, it’s in full swing this week as the U.S. is set to play in the quarterfinals after defeating Germany Sunday.
As of Monday, Team USA remained undefeated, though Canada remains a top seed.
On Tuesday, the U.S. is set to face the winner of the qualification round game between Sweden and Latvia, while Canada plays Czechia or Denmark in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The games come after a long wait. The 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics are the first Games with NHL players after nearly 12 years, with the league opting to not participate in 2018 following the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
Overall, the NHL has paused its season for the Olympics five times from 1998 through 2014, and most of the players now in the league grew up expecting to play on that stage. Disagreements over who would pay for insurance and travel costs, along with the time difference between South Korea and North America, were cited as factors in the NHL passing on Pyeongchang in 2018.
After that, pandemic-related scheduling issues caused an eleventh-hour change of plans in 2022.
As recently as this past fall, U.S. defenseman Charlie McAvoy said he was still upset about not being able to play in the 2022 Olympics.
“That one took a while to get over,” McAvoy said. “You’re picking sizes for your Ralph Lauren outfit to walk around in the opening ceremonies. That stuff got real. It got really real. And you internalize it. It works as motivation. You want to be a part of that, and then you just lose it in a matter of seconds.”
The unbeaten USA men’s hockey team secured a spot in the quarterfinals after defeating Germany 5-1.
Which NHL players are playing in the Olympics?
Each of the NHL’s 32 teams is represented at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, but not all of them are playing for Team USA.
Here’s a breakdown of all the NHL players participating and which countries they’ll be playing for:
Anaheim Ducks
Lukas Dostal, G (CZE)
Mikael Granlund, F (FIN)
Radko Gudas, D (CZE)
Jackson LaCombe, D (USA)
Boston Bruins
Henri Jokiharju, D (FIN)
Joonas Korpisalo, G (FIN)
Elias Lindholm, F (SWE)
Hampus Lindholm, D (SWE)
Charlie McAvoy, D (USA)
David Pastrnak, F (CZE)
Jeremy Swayman, G (USA)
Buffalo Sabres
Rasmus Dahlin, D (SWE)
Tage Thompson, F (USA)
Calgary Flames
Martin Pospisil, F (SVK)
Carolina Hurricanes
Sebastian Aho, F (FIN)
Frederik Andersen, G (DEN)
Nikolaj Ehlers, F (DEN)
Seth Jarvis, F (CAN)
Jaccob Slavin, D (USA)
Chicago Blackhawks
Teuvo Teravainen, F (FIN)
Colorado Avalanche
Joel Kiviranta, F (FIN)
Gabriel Landeskog, F (SWE)
Artturi Lehkonen, F (FIN)
Nathan MacKinnon, F (CAN)
Cale Makar, D (CAN)
Martin Necas, F (CZE)
Brock Nelson, F (USA)
Devon Toews, D (CAN)
Columbus Blue Jackets
Elvis Merzlikins, G (LAT)
Zach Werenski, D (USA)
Dallas Stars
Radek Faksa, F (CZE)
Thomas Harley, D (CAN)
Miro Heiskanen, D (FIN)
Roope Hintz, F (FIN)
Esa Lindell, D (FIN)
Jake Oettinger, G (USA)
Mikko Rantanen, F (FIN)
Detroit Red Wings
Dylan Larkin, F (USA)
Lucas Raymond, F (SWE)
Moritz Seider, D (GER)
Edmonton Oilers
Leon Draisaitl, F (GER)
Connor McDavid, F (CAN)
Josh Samanski, F (GER)
Florida Panthers
Uvis Balinskis, D (LAT)
Sam Bennett, F (CAN)
Gustav Forsling, D (SWE)
Anton Lundell, F (FIN)
Eetu Luostarinen, F (FIN)
Niko Mikkola, D (FIN)
Brad Marchand, F (CAN)
Sam Reinhart, F (CAN)
Matthew Tkachuk, F (USA)
Sandis Vilmanis, F (LAT)
Los Angeles Kings
Joel Armia, F (FIN)
Drew Doughty, D (CAN)
Kevin Fiala, F (SUI)
Adrian Kempe, F (SWE)
Darcy Kuemper, G (CAN)
Minnesota Wild
Matt Boldy, F (USA)
Joel Eriksson Ek, F (SWE)
Brock Faber, D (USA)
Filip Gustavsson, G (SWE)
Quinn Hughes, D (USA)
Marcus Johansson, F (SWE)
Nico Sturm, F (GER)
Jesper Wallstedt, G (SWE)
Montreal Canadiens
Oliver Kapanen, F (FIN)
Juraj Slafkovsky, F (SVK)
Nick Suzuki, F (CAN)
Alexandre Texier, F (FRA)
Nashville Predators
Filip Forsberg, F (SWE)
Erik Haula, F (FIN)
Roman Josi, D (SUI)
Juuse Saros, G (FIN)
New Jersey Devils
Jesper Bratt, F (SWE)
Nico Hischier, F (SUI)
Jack Hughes, F (USA)
Jacob Markstrom, G (SWE)
Timo Meier, F (SUI)
Simon Nemec, D (SVK)
Jonas Siegenthaler, D (SUI)
New York Islanders
Bo Horvat, F (CAN)
Ondrej Palat, F (CZE)
New York Rangers
J.T. Miller, F (USA)
Vincent Trocheck, F (USA)
Mika Zibanejad, F (SWE)
Ottawa Senators
Lars Eller, F (DEN)
Nikolas Matinpalo, D (FIN)
Jake Sanderson, D (USA)
Mads Sogaard, G (DEN)
Tim Stutzle, F (GER)
Brady Tkachuk, F (USA)
Philadelphia Flyers
Rasmus Ristolainen, D (FIN)
Travis Sanheim, D (CAN)
Dan Vladar, G (CZE)
Pittsburgh Penguins
Sidney Crosby, F (CAN)
Erik Karlsson, D (SWE)
Rickard Rakell, F (SWE)
Arturs Silovs, G (LAT)
San Jose Sharks
Macklin Celebrini, F (CAN)
Philipp Kurashev, F (SUI)
Pavol Regenda, F (SVK)
Alexander Wennberg, F (SWE)
Seattle Kraken
Oscar Fisker Molgaard, F (DEN)
Philipp Grubauer, G (GER)
Kaapo Kakko, F (FIN)
Eeli Tolvanen, F (FIN)
St. Louis Blues
Jordan Binnington, G (CAN)
Philip Broberg, D (SWE)
Dalibor Dvorsky, F (SVK)
Colton Parayko, D (CAN)
Pius Suter, F (SUI)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Oliver Bjorkstrand, F (DEN)
Erik Cernak, D (SVK)
Zemgus Girgensons, F (LAT)
Jake Guentzel, F (USA)
Brandon Hagel, F (CAN)
Victor Hedman, D (SWE)
Pontus Holmberg, F (SWE)
J.J. Moser, D (SUI)
Toronto Maple Leafs
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D (SWE)
William Nylander, F (SWE)
Auston Matthews, F (USA)
Utah Mammoth
Clayton Keller, F (USA)
Olli Maatta, D (FIN)
JJ Peterka, F (GER)
Karel Vejmelka, G (CZE)
Vancouver Canucks
Teddy Blueger, F (LAT)
Filip Hronek, D (CZE)
David Kampf, F (CZE)
Kevin Lankinen, G (FIN)
Elias Pettersson, F (SWE)
Vegas Golden Knights
Rasmus Andersson, D (SWE)
Jack Eichel, F (USA)
Noah Hanifin, D (USA)
Tomas Hertl, F (CZE)
Mitch Marner, F (CAN)
Akira Schmid, G (SUI)
Mark Stone, F (CAN)
Shea Theodore, D (CAN)
Washington Capitals
Martin Fehervary, D (SVK)
Logan Thompson, G (CAN)
Tom Wilson, F (CAN)
Winnipeg Jets
Kyle Connor, F (USA)
Connor Hellebuyck, G (USA)
Josh Morrissey, D (CAN)
Nino Niederreiter, F (SUI)
Connor Hellebuyck was solid in net, Auston Matthews looked like the captain we all expected as the U.S. men’s hockey team beat Germany 5-1. Ashlyn Sullivan and Jordan Hall break down the win.
Which NHL players are on team USA?
Here’s the full list of NHL players competing on Team USA.
Anaheim Ducks
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Carolina Hurricanes
Colorado Avalanche
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
Minnesota Wild
New Jersey Devils
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leaves
Utah Mammoth
Vegas Golden Knights
Winnipeg Jets
NBC Sports hockey analysts Jordan Hall and Ashlyn Sullivan recap Team USA men’s hockey 6-3 victory over Denmark on Saturday and discuss how the Americans overcame a 2-1 deficit after the first period.
When does the U.S. play again?
Thanks to their win over Germany on Sunday, the United States will automatically advance to the quarterfinal round, as they topped their group.
Canada will also advance to the quarterfinals, and the two teams will be on a collision course in the gold medal game if they can win their two knockout round games to get there.
Slovakia and Finland also received byes into the quarterfinals.
Those quarterfinal games will take place on Wednesday, with opponents to be determined.
Remaining men’s hockey schedule
On Tuesday, there will be four qualification play-off games to determine the other four teams that will be in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Those games will include:
Germany vs. France (5:10 a.m.)
Switzerland vs. Italy (5:10 a.m.)
Czechia vs. Denmark (9:40 a.m.)
Sweden vs. Latvia (2:10 p.m.)
The four quarterfinal games will then take place on Wednesday, with puck drop set for 5:10 a.m., 9:40 a.m., 11:10 a.m. and 2:10 p.m. Central time.
The hockey semifinals will take place on Friday, with game times at 9:40 a.m. and 2:10 p.m.
The men’s hockey bronze medal game will be played on Saturday at 1:40 p.m., and the gold medal game will take place next Sunday at 7:10 a.m., with the Olympic closing ceremonies set to follow.