Jake Mozarsky
For decades, the story of American men’s hockey on the Olympic stage has been one of “almost.” While Canada and Sweden have consistently refined their best-on-best formulas, Team USA has spent the years since the 1980 Miracle on Ice searching for the perfect mix of speed, grit, and goaltending.
Entering the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games, that search appears to be over. This is no longer a collection of plucky underdogs or college kids; this is a juggernaut full of NHL superstars.
From prolific scorer Auston Matthews to a deep roster of top-six forwards, each talented in their own right, the Stars and Stripes now have a chance to make history in the first best-on-best Olympics since 2014.
The Sporting News brings you everything you need to know about Team USA.
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For the most of the roster, including superstars like Auston Matthews and the Hughes brothers, this is their first opportunity to play in the Olympics due to the 12-year gap in NHL participation.
Your 2026 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team 🇺🇸 #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/tX6PfCzGEf
The Minnesota Wild‘s Brock Faber and Ottawa Senators‘ Jake Sanderson are the only players with prior experience, having played in the 2022 Beijing Games as college standouts.
“We aren’t going there to ‘compete’ or to ‘show well,'” Team USA GM Bill Guerin stated before he games. “With this group, anything short of gold is a disappointment. The time for being ‘happy to be there’ ended in 1980.”
The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off served as the perfect dress rehearsal. While the U.S. lost to Canada in a 3-2 overtime thriller, the tournament proved that the American core could dominate the puck against the world’s best.
21 of the 25 players from the 4 Nations roster have returned for Milan. This level of familiarity is rare in Olympic hockey and gives the U.S. a massive “chemistry” advantage in a short tournament.
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Mike Sullivan’s is the head coach of the USA men’s ice hockey team. Sullivan, who also serves as the head coach of the New York Rangers, was originally named to lead the 2022 squad before the NHL withdrew due to COVID-19. He officially took the reins for the “best-on-best” era starting with last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
The Minnesota Wild’s John Hynes, the Rangers’ David Quinn, and the legendary John Tortorella round out the assistant coaches. Three-time Olympian and current Wild GM Bill Guerin serves as the team’s general manager.
Most of this staff worked together during the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, where they led the U.S. to a runner-up finish. Tortorella’s inclusion brings a veteran, high-intensity presence to the bench.
Quinn, who is an assistant coach on the staff, served as head coach for the 2022 Beijing Games.
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Team USA has a storied history on the Olympic ice, defined by legendary upsets and a reputation for being the world’s best at finishing second. The Americans have captured 11 medals in 22 appearances, headlined by two iconic gold medal runs on home soil.
While Team USA is hunting for its first gold since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice,” the program has remained a perennial powerhouse in the NHL era, reaching the gold medal game in both 2002 and 2010. The 2026 Games in Milan represent the first time since 2014 that the U.S. has been able to send its full stable of NHL superstars to the Olympics.
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Team USA enters Group C of the 2026 Winter Olympics as a heavy favorite. All of their preliminary round games follow a consistent schedule for fans in the United States, with puck drop set for 3:10 PM ET.
If Team USA wins their group or finishes as the top second-place team, they will likely bypass the Qualification Playoff and head straight to the Quarterfinals.
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Jake Mozarsky joined The Sporting News as an Editorial Intern in August 2025 after earning both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University. He has previously written for Marquee Sports Network, Chicago This Week, Inside NU and The Daily Northwestern.
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