“Really cool just to be around”: NHL Stars land in Milan Cortina for the Winter Olympic Games after 12-year hiatus

NHL stars have arrived in Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics, marking the league's return to the Games after a 12-year absence since Sochi 2014. As per reports, around 150 players travelled on five charter flights from New York, landing Sunday morning to begin practices ahead of the men's hockey tournament scheduled to start on February 11, 2026.

The players were already scheduled to land in Milan early in the morning on Saturday and start practicing within hours. According to TSN.com, Sweden was the first of the teams made up of almost exclusively NHL talent to take the ice for practice at Milano Santagiulia Arena, with the U.S., Czech Republic, Canada, and Finland to follow.From players like Anaheim Ducks' Lukas Dostal to David Pastrnak, all have joined the Olympic Games 2026 after 12-year long hiatus.

Let us take a look at the preparations for the Winter Olympic Games.

NHL Players arrive in Italy to participate in the Winter Olympics 2026 after a prolonged break

As the Winter Olympic Games have begun with a spectacular opening ceremony, the NHL Players have arrived in Italy to participate in the Winter Olympic Games after a prolonged break of 12 years. According to TSN, this is the first Olympics with the NHL playerssince Sochi in 2014. The league opted not to participate in 2018, and pandemic-related scheduling issues caused an eleventh-hour change of plans in 2022.

The participating national teams are Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S. Host Italy is the only team without an NHL player on its roster. The teams are divided into fields of four. Group A has Canada, Czechia, France, and Switzerland. Group B is Finland, Italy, Slovakia, and Sweden. Group C has Denmark, Germany, Latvia, and the U.S.

The players arranged transportation to get to Italy before the five charter planes from New York’s John F.

Kennedy International Airport that arrived on Sunday morning, which included NHL stars like Canada’s Connor McDavid, Germany’s Leon Draisaitl, Czechia’s David Pastrnak, and a quartet of Americans. On the other hand, Sweden named Gabriel Landeskog captain, as expected, with Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson the alternate, as reported by TSN.Speaking to TSN, Connor McDavid stated, “Really cool just to be around all the athletes. Special to be here.” Meanwhile, Team Canada announced the obvious that Sidney Crosby would lead the team as captain. While McDavid and Cale Makar are the alternates.The game begins on February 11, 2026, with the marquee team in action that day being Sweden against Italy. In preliminaries, team U.S plays Latvia on February 12, Denmark on February 14, and Germany on February 15.