The ice hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 begins on February 11th. Twelve national teams are taking part. For the first time since Sochi 2014, NHL players are at the start again. Below is an assessment from NHL.com/de as to which team has the best representatives in individual categories.
Best offense: Canada
Team Canada’s attack department has the potential to dazzle any opponent at the Olympics. The offense features the best the NHL has to offer. There are: Connor McDavid from the Edmonton Oilers, Sidney Crosby from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nathan MacKinnon from the Colorado Avalanche, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand from the Florida Panthers, Mitch Marner from the Vegas Golden Knights or the up-and-coming Macklin Celebrini from the San Jose Sharks. Not least because of the many stars in the storm, Canada is the big favorite for the gold medal.
Best defense: Sweden
With Victor Hedman from the Tampa Bay Lightning and Erik Karlsson from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Team Sweden has two Norris Trophy winners from the NHL in its ranks. In addition, Rasmus Dahlin from the Buffalo Sabers and Gustav Forsling from the Florida Panthers are two of the best two-way defenders in the league. Forsling has shown in the last two Stanley Cup Finals series how to keep a superstar like McDavid in check. The Swedish defensive corps is not only excellently staffed at the top, but also in depth. Players like Hampus Lindholm from the Boston Bruins, Rasmus Andersson from the Vegas Golden Knights, Oliver Ekman-Larsson from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philip Broberg from the St. Louis Blues are extremely reliable defensively and can move the game forward at any time.
date: 2026-02-07 17:40:00