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After reports emerged last week that the ice surface for hockey at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics would be smaller than NHL rinks, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) issued a statement confirming the report while defending its decision to approve the size.
“The IIHF can confirm that the ice surfaces for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games will measure 60.0 meters x 26.0 meters (approximately 196.85 feet x 85.3 feet),” the federation said in a statement. “While these dimensions differ slightly from a typical NHL rink, they are consistent with IIHF regulations, match the rink size used at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and are fully consistent with the dimensions the NHL requires as part of its Global Series Game arena specifications.”
The IIHF went on to add that all parties involved — from the IIHF, the Olympic Organizing Committee, NHL, NHLPA and IOC — “agree that the differences in rink specifications are insignificant and should not impact either the safety or quality of gameplay.”
Ice surfaces in the NHL must be 200 feet x 85 feet, which differs from the international standard of 60 meters x 30 meters (approximately 197 feet x 98.4 feet). With the surface that will be used in the 2026 Winter Games being both shorter than those in the NHL and narrower than what’s typically used internationally, eyebrows were raised across the hockey world as to how this came to be.
“I don’t understand how that happened,” Team Canada assistant coach and former Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer said regarding the rink being smaller.
According to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, the NHL has no control over the construction of the brand-new arena that will house the 2026 Winter Games’ hockey matchups. However, the ice surface being smaller than an NHL surface is a violation of an agreement between the NHL, NHLPA and IIHF. Despite that, it doesn’t appear that any party believes the size will impact the safety of those on the ice.
While the size of the ice surface has been the buzz around the hockey world for the better part of a week, the NHL Players’ Association is more concerned about the quality of the ice.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said that the NHL is holding a test event from Jan. 9 to 11, where it will be able to see if the ice meets its standards.
“I think that test event is going to be critical, very important in determining how good this ice is going to be,” Friedman said.
If that goes well, then hopefully all the drama can be set aside, and everybody can get back on board with looking forward to NHL players competing in the Olympics for the first time since 2014.
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Seth Dowdle is a 2024 graduate of TCU, where he earned a degree in sports broadcasting with a minor in journalism. He currently hosts a TCU-focused show on the Bleav Network and has been active in sports media since 2019, beginning with high school sports coverage in the DFW area. Seth is also the owner and editor of SethStack, his personal hub for in-depth takes on everything from college football to hockey. His past experience includes working in the broadcast department for the Cleburne Railroaders and at 88.7 KTCU, TCU's radio station.
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