MILAN — NHL players are scheduled to land in Milan early in the morning Saturday and start practicing within hours.
It’s the logistical aspect of getting around 150 players from the U.S. to the 2026 Winter Games, where for the next two weeks they’ll try to reach the gold medal game Feb. 22. The players and other NHL personnel are traveling on chartered planes.
Advertisement
While NHL owners may grumble about the possibility of injuries, it’s a win for the sport to have the game’s best players back at the Olympics for the first time since 2014. (The 2018 Olympics in South Korea were a no-go for insurance and travel reasons, and the NHL pulled out of the 2022 Olympics in Beijing because of the pandemic.)
Here’s what to know.
1 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Auston Matthews Team USA skates during the second period against Team Finland in the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off at the Bell Centre on Feb. 13, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Team USA defeated Team Finland 6-1.
1 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Auston Matthews Team USA skates during the second period against Team Finland in the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off at the Bell Centre on Feb. 13, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Team USA defeated Team Finland 6-1.
2 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews celebrates after scoring the go-ahead goal in the third period against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Mar. 29, 2025.
3 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Auston Matthews of the United States takes questions during media day ahead of the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off at the Bell Centre on Feb. 11, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
4 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) passes the puck defended by Seattle Kraken defenseman Ryan Lindgren (55) during the first period at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Oct. 18, 2025.
5 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Auston Matthews of Team USA prepares to play against Team Finland in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off at Bell Centre on Feb. 13, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
6 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Auston Matthews #34 of Team USA plays against Team Canada during the first period in the 4 Nations Face-Off game at the Bell Centre on Feb. 15, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
7 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates his 400th career NHL goal on an empty net with left wing Scott Laughton (24) during the third period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on April 15, 2025.
8 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Auston Matthews of Team USA takes the faceoff during the third period against Team Canada in the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off at the Bell Centre on February 15, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Team USA defeated Team Canada 3-1.
9 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews skates during the warmup before a game against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Oct 8, 2025.
10 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Auston Matthews #34 of Team United States celebrates Jake Sanderson #85 of Team United States goal against Jordan Binnington #50 of Team Canada during the second period in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game at TD Garden on Feb. 20, 2025 in Boston, Mass.
11 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) gets congratulated after scoring against the Colorado Avalanche on an assist by Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares (91) during the second period at Scotiabank Arena on March 19, 2025.
12 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Auston Matthews #34 of Team USA is stopped by Jordan Binnington #50 of Team Canada at the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game at TD Garden on Feb. 20, 2025 in Boston, Mass.
13 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews takes a shot against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, NC on April 13, 2025.
14 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Brady Tkachuk and Auston Matthews of Team USA react following a loss to Team Canada in overtime in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game at TD Garden on Feb. 20, 2025 in Boston, Mass.
15 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) walks along the tunnel to access the ice before playing the Nashville Predators at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Oct. 14, 2025
16 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews goes to shoot the puck against the Calgary Flames during the first period at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Oct. 28, 2025.
17 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews reacts after scoring a goal against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first period at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Nov. 1, 2025.
18 / 18
NHL player Auston Matthews heads to the Winter Games looking for gold
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) in action against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first period at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Nov. 1, 2025.
When and where does Olympic men’s hockey get underway
The first practices run all day Sunday, with Latvia holding the first slot at 10 a.m. in Milan (4 a.m. ET). The U.S. has a slot from 6-7:30 p.m., and Canada from 7:45 to 9:15 p.m. There are practices through Feb. 10. They’re vital to getting everybody on the same page as quickly as possible, and to turbo-charge team bonding. As far as arenas, Santa Giulia Arena is the primary one, while Rho Ice Hockey Arena is a temporary venue.
Advertisement
When do the games begin
Games begin Feb. 11, with the marquee team in action that day being Sweden against Italy. In preliminaries, the U.S. plays Latvia Feb. 12, Denmark Feb. 14, and Germany Feb. 15.
Brady Tkachuk and Auston Matthews of Team USA react following a loss to Team Canada in overtime in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game at TD Garden on Feb. 20, 2025 in Boston, Mass.
How many teams are there
The participating national teams are Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S. Host Italy is the only team without an NHL player on its roster. The teams are divided into fields of four. Group A has Canada, Czechia, France and Switzerland. Group B is Finland, Italy, Slovakia and Sweden. Group C has Denmark, Germany, Latvia and the U.S.
Advertisement
All 12 teams play three preliminary games in their respective groups, then move on to a single-elimination playoff that will conclude with the gold medal game Feb. 22.
Who is there from the NHL
All 32 NHL teams have a player going, but some teams have quite a few more than others. Take the Florida Panthers (10, representing five teams) and the Vegas Golden Knights (Nine, representing seven countries).The Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning each have eight players going.
Here’s the full list.
Boston Bruins
Advertisement
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
Montreal Canadiens
Nashville Predators
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
San Jose Sharks
Seattle Kraken
Oscar Fisker Molgaard (DEN)
St. Louis Blues
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Oliver Ekman-Larsson (SWE)
Utah Mammoth
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 148 NHL players arrive at Olympics today and have no time to rest
