Team USA’s most recent gold medal in men’s hockey was won at a time when no current active NHL player was alive. The International Olympic Committee approved the participation of professional athletes in Olympic competition in 1988, but it wasn’t until Nagano in 1998 that the NHL agreed to allow its players to participate in the Winter Games. Since then, more than 700 NHL players have represented their countries on the biggest stage.
The “Miracle on Ice” hockey team, coached by the late Hall of Famer Herb Brooks, is the last group of American men who adorned the most coveted hardware in sports around their necks. Captain Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig, Bill “Buzz” Schneider, Mark Johnson, and many other neophyte stateside college hockey players stood at the top of the award stage on February 24th, 1980. That was at a time when the United States was experiencing one of its most lachrymose periods, and no American Olympic men’s hockey team has won gold since then.
Nearly half a century has passed since Team USA men’s hockey finished as the last team standing in Olympic competition. In that span of time, American rink rats have come tantalizingly close to reclaiming the international hockey crown twice – in 2002 and 2010. In both of those years, the Americans were defeated by Canada in the gold medal game. The 2010 contest featured Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal, perhaps the most iconic moment in Olympic hockey history next to the Miracle on Ice.
In the Sochi Games in 2014, the last Olympic Games that featured NHL players, Team US failed to win a medal. T.J. Oshie’s heroics against Russia remain firmly entrenched in Olympic hockey lore, but banners aren’t hung for teams that don’t win medals.
With what has to be considered the greatest American hockey team ever assembled, is this the year that Team USA will finally get the gold?
Virtually identical to last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster, 2026’s iteration of America’s best remains largely unchanged. Of the 25 players named to the United States’ Olympic roster in January, 21 played at 4 Nations. The only alterations are Clayton Keller, Tage Thompson, Quinn Hughes, and Jackson LaCombe.
Seth Jones was originally included as well, but he was placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) on after he sustained an upper-body injury in the first period of the Florida Panthers’ 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers in the Winter Classic on January 2nd.
Speaking of the Rangers – they’ll be one of the best-represented NHL clubs during the Olympics. Team USA will be coached by Mike Sullivan, the new Blueshirts bench boss. Also on the American hockey squad are Rangers captain J.T. Miller and the ebullient Vincent Trocheck. Mika Zibanejad will suit up for his native Sweden, too.
Despite the United States squad’s eupeptic aspirations as the Olympics inch closer, there are some controversial exclusions from Team USA. Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox, who was on the 4 Nations Face-Off roster last year, won’t be vying for gold.
Another contentious roster absence is that of Jason Robertson, whose 30 goals are tied for fourth-best in the NHL. Robertson’s 181 goals since the 2021-2022 campaign are third-best among all American-born players; only Auston Matthews and Tage Thompson have more. To exacerbate the controversy, Robertson ranks 11th overall in goals scored among all NHL players in that same amount of time.
Other glaring roster vacancies include Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield, and Alex DeBrincat. At the end of the day, though, it is important to remember why Team USA general manager Bill Guerin molded this Olympic team like the 4 Nations roster. The Americans had a 2-1 lead at 7:32 of the second period in the championship game against Canada last year, and they defeated their northern neighbors by a score of 3-1 earlier in the tournament. The first matchup between the Americans and Canadiens featured an epic brawl that was perhaps the most boisterous opening to any hockey game ever played.
Make no mistake about it – Canada has the best roster at Milano Cortina 2026. From having the best player on the planet in Connor McDavid and a top-five player of all time in Sidney Crosby, Hockey Canada is the team to beat.
Also on the Canadian club are current Hart Memorial Trophy favorite Nathan MacKinnon and teenage phenom Macklin Celebrini. Celebrini is just the 4th teenager in NHL history with 30 points through their first 20 games of a season, and he scored 23 points through the first 15 games of the season, something only Wayne Gretzky and Steve Yzerman had done before.
The household names on Canada’s superstar squad don’t stop there. Brayden Point, Cale Makar, Mitch Marner, Sam Reinhart, and the sagacious Drew Doughty are also competing for their country’s third straight Olympic gold medal.
Don’t be fooled – the rest of Canada’s Olympic club is comprised of stars, too. This is a team built on speed and championship DNA; after all, several players on the roster have won a Stanley Cup, and Crosby and Doughty have won gold medals before. If Team USA finally bring home the gold, they’ll have to usurp Canada.
While the general consensus is that the Americans and Canadians boast the best hockey teams, Sweden should not be underestimated. “Tre Kronor” and its finest can definitely stage an upset.
On Sweden’s roster are the aforementioned Mika Zibanejad, in addition to Jesper Bratt, Filip Forsberg, William Nylander, Lucas Raymond, Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson, and Rasmus Dahlin.
Sweden has won two Olympic gold medals – 1994 and 2006. Their most recent medal was silver, which they won back in Sochi in 2014. It is also worth noting that Sweden defeated Team USA, 2-1, in the final round-robin game of the 4 Nations Face-Off last year, although the Americans were shorthanded due to injuries and resting players for the championship against Canada.
It’s very simple for the Americans: it’s time to put up or shut up. There’s been ample confabulation and hype surrounding this team, but they haven’t won anything yet. While leading Canada and taking them to overtime in last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off are admirable feats, the greatest accomplishment of all has eluded the United States for nearly 50 years.
They have the goal-scorers, the experience, the goalies, and the most talented American hockey team ever assembled. At the risk of stating the obvious – a chance at a gold medal only comes once every four years, so this could very well be the only chance for a lot of players.
Team USA will begin Olympic play against Latvia in the preliminary round on Thursday, February 12th. Let the games begin.
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