Olympic Hockey Stage Set: Where Every Flyers Player in Milan Will Start Tournament Play

The group phase is over, which means the stage is set for the single-elimination hockey tournament at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. Following group play, all 12 teams advance to the single-elimination tournament, which begins on Tuesday. Four teams received byes, while the other eight play to determine who will face them in the quarter-finals.

Here is how things shaped up.

First Round 2/17

6:10 a.m. EST – Germany vs. France.
6:10 a.m. EST – Italy vs. Switzerland.
10:40 a.m. EST – CZECHIA vs. Denmark.
3:10 p.m. EST – Sweden vs. Latvia.

Quater-finals 2/18

6:10 a.m. EST – Slovakia vs. Germany/France.
10:10 a.m. EST – CANADA vs. CZECHIA/Denmark.
12:10 p.m. EST – FINLAND vs. Italy/Switzerland.
3:10 p.m. EST – USA vs. Sweden/Latvia.

The four quarter-final winners will be reseeded before the semi-finals on 2/20 (10:40 a.m. EST & 3:10 p.m. EST). The Bronze Medal Game is on 2/21 at 2:40 p.m. EST, and the Gold Medal Game is on 2/22 at 8:40 a.m. EST.

The names in bold are the nations that Flyers players or coaches represent.

Here is where each Flyers representative will start the next stage.

Flyers at the Olympics: Where they will start tournament play

Dan Vladar is the only Flyers representative in Milan who will play in the first round of tournament play. Vladar and Czechia are set to take on Denmark in round 1 on Tuesday at 10:40 p.m. EST.

In the three group-stage games, Vladar played once, while Lukas Dostal played twice. Vladar was in goal for Czechia’s only win. It seems like a safe assumption that if Czechia intended to play Karel Vejmelka at some point, he would have gotten a game in the group stage before the elimination games. That said, I wonder if Vladar will get the start in the opener, with Canada as the opponent that follows. With Rick Tocchet behind the Canadian bench, it may benefit the Czechs to avoid that matchup. However, Dostal gave up 5 to Canada in the opener, so who knows. Regardless, it seems like they will be the two players rotating.

So, moving on to Canada, they have a bye after winning all three group stage games, and will take on the winner of the Czechia vs. Denmark game. Rick Tocchet and Travis Sanheim will be patiently waiting for their next opponent.

After limited ice time in his Olympic debut, Travis Sanheim led Canada in ice time vs. France with 18:53, per HockeyStats.com. He had a +/- of +3, tied for second among all Canadian skaters. In all fairness, it was a 10-2 game against France, but Sanheim made a strong case for a third pair spot as the tournament progresses.

Finally, that leaves us with Rasmus Ristolainen and Finland, who got the 4th bye. They will be waiting for the winner between Italy and Switzerland.

Ristolainen has put together a solid tournament so far, and his +8 still leads all Olympic skaters. He is now tied with Devon Towes (CAN), who has that mark as well. Ristolainen also has two assists in this tournament.

Olympic Hockey Stage Set: Where Every Flyers Player in Milan Will Start Tournament Play

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