While Canada is continuing to celebrate their massive win at the 4 Nations Face-Off last night, many other countries already have their sights set on the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
As exciting and big of a success as the 4 Nations Face-Off turned out to be, the upcoming Olympics will see plenty of other NHL superstars get to participate, as there will be 12 countries total competing on the men’s side.
Canada, USA, Finland, and Sweden, who we all saw compete in the 4 Nations, will be present. The other eight teams competing will be Czechia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany, Latvia, Denmark, Italy, and France.
The notable omission on this list is Russia, whose status for the 2026 Olympics remains in doubt. They have been banned by the IIHF through 2026, though the International Olympic Committee does get the final say in this particular matter.
At this point, they have not commented one way or the other on Russia’s potential inclusion. If they are given the go ahead to play, they will take France’s spot.
Given the anticipation for this tournament thanks to the build up provided from the 4 Nations, FanDuel has already put out their betting odds for all 12 teams participating.
To no surprise, Canada is listed as the slight favourites, while the U.S. are just behind. The other two countries in the 4 Nations Face-Off, Sweden and Finland, come in at third and fourth, respectively.
The top ranked team who didn’t participate in the 4 Nations Face-Off is Czechia. The rest of the teams competing are viewed as longshots when it comes to winning gold.
- Canada (+175)
- USA (+190)
- Sweden (+500)
- Finland (+700)
- Czechia (+1400)
- Switzerland (+5,000)
- Slovakia (+5,000)
- Germany (+5,000)
- Latvia (+14000)
- Denmark (+14000)
- Italy (+25000)
- France (+25000)
This event is one hockey fans have been awaiting for a long time, as it marks the first time NHL players will compete in the Olympics since the 2014 Games in Sochi. That tournament saw Canada defeat Sweden by a 3-0 final to capture their second-straight gold medal.
What also makes it exciting is that it will showcase several other superstars in the NHL that weren’t able to compete in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Players like Leon Draisaitl and David Pastrnak will get to compete in the Olympics for the first time in their careers, while Roman Josi will get another opportunity to represent Switzerland on the world’s biggest stage.
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