There is a ton of excitement and buzz around men’s hockey heading into the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, and for good reason.
The international field has never been more intriguing and elite than it is right now. All of the world’s top teams are competing for Olympic gold just three years after Finland took home gold at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Team Finland goalkeeper Jussi Olkinuora (45) celebrates | George Walker IV-Imagn Images
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Team Canada (who is ranked No. 3 in the world, according to the IIHF) suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Sweden in the quarterfinals of the last Olympics.
If Canada is going to perform better and earn itself a spot on the podium (and potentially win gold) at the Milano Cortina games, it’ll need a world-class tournament from Edmonton Oilers star center, Connor McDavid.

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) | Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
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The good thing for Canada is that McDavid has a lot of support at his side, with his wife Lauren Kyle.
The couple met in 2016 because of a blind date set up by her cousin, Luke Gazdic (who was also McDavid’s teammate), and have been together ever since.

Connor McDavid and Lauren Kyle | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean-Imagn Images
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Connor McDavid’s Wife Lauren Kyle Turns Heads Before Canada Olympics Debut
Canada’s debut game in these Winter Olympics is against Czechia on February 12. Lauren Kyle is in attendance and posted a photo of her maroon-red outfit to her Instagram story before the game began.
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Lauren Kyle McDavid’s February 12 Instagram story. | Instagram/@lauren.kyle1
She followed this up with a photo of her walking into the stadium where her husband and Canada are playing. Her outfit and purse match the carpet she’s walking on, and the post is captioned, “❤️🇨🇦”.
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Lauren Kyle McDavid’s February 12 Instagram story. | Instagram/@lauren.kyle1
Lauren is surely hoping to see her husband lead Canada to a win on Thursday.

Connor McDavid and his girlfriend Lauren Kyle | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
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