The 2026 Winter Olympics are being held in Milan Cortina, Italy, and one of the marquee events is the men’s ice hockey tournament, which begins Wednesday and ends with the gold medal game on February 22.
This year’s tournament is generating increased attention and excitement, as active NHL players will compete in the Olympics for the first time in 12 years, at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. NHL players have only competed in two best-on-best tournaments since 2014: the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and last year’s 4-Nations Showdown.
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Five members of the Anaheim Ducks The organization will represent its respective nations when the men’s tournament begins, including four of its NHL players. Let’s take a look at what to expect from each of them over the next week and a half:
Preliminary schedule: 02/11/26 at 12:10 p.m. PST vs. Sweden, 02/13/26 at 3:10 a.m. PST vs. Slovakia, 02/14/26 at 7:40 a.m. PST vs. Finland
We do not know exactly what role Clara (21 years old) will occupy within the dynamic Italian goalkeeper. He played the 2025-26 season on loan as the starting goaltender for Brynas IF in the SHL. He posted a 16-13-0 record, an .888 SV% and two shutouts.
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The other two Italian goalkeepers are Davide Fadani (25), starter for EHC Kloten in the Swiss National League, and Gianluca Vallini (32), replacement for HC Bolzano in the top Italian professional league.
When the Ducks selected Clara (60th overall in 2023), he became the highest-drafted Italian player in NHL history. He has the pedigree advantage over the other two goalkeepers, and he was announced as one of the first six Italian players on their preliminary Olympic roster.
Italy was granted an automatic bid for the men’s hockey tournament, as it is the host country. We gave them a tough slice. Sweden will have an all-NHL team, Finland will have just one non-NHL player, and Slovakia will have ten NHL players.
They’ll be lucky to keep any of their first three games close, but this could prove a significant test for Clara and an opportunity to make a name for herself on a global scale.
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Preliminary schedule: 02/12/26 at 7:40 a.m. PST against Canada, 02/13/26 at 7:40 a.m. PST against France, 02/15/26 at 3:10 a.m. PST against Switzerland
Dostal (25) enters this tournament as the projected starter for Czechia and will likely be called up to face the powerful Canadian team on Thursday. Dostal has been the heartbeat of the Ducks during a rollercoaster 2025-26 season in Anaheim. He started 37 games and appeared in 38 while posting a 21-13-2 record, an .897 SV%, and saved 3.7 goals above expectations.
Dostal has become one of the elite goalies in the NHL and is capable of stealing multiple games, which is something he will need if Czechia hopes to medal in this tournament. While he has the ability to dazzle, he relies more on his angles, body control and tracking the puck in and around traffic.
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He will likely start two of the Czech Republic’s three preliminary games and will share the goalie room with Dan Vladar (Philadelphia Flyers) and Karel Vejmelka (Utah Mammoth). Dostal’s latest attempt on the international stage resulted in a gold medal for Czechia at the 2024 World Championships, where he started eight games, posted a 6-2-0 record, a .939 SV% and three shutouts.
Preliminary schedule: 02/11/26 at 7:40 a.m. PST vs. Slovakia, 02/13/26 at 3:10 a.m. PST vs. Sweden, 02/14/26 at 7:40 a.m. PST vs. Italy
Finland has a tougher battle than expected, as its star center and projected captain, Sasha Barkov, suffered a torn MCL and ACL during the first practice of Florida Panthers training camp. Anaheim Ducks versatile forward Mikael Granlund (33) will wear Finland’s “C” at his second Olympic Games this week.
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For the Ducks, Granlund represents general manager Pat Verbeek’s largest free agency signing to date, as on July 1, 2025, he signed a three-year contract featuring an AAV of $7 million. Much like he will for Finland, Granlund has been a stabilizing veteran up front, especially of late when the Ducks have been without several talented forwards.
Granlund has 27 points (12-15=27) in his first 38 games with the Ducks in 2025-26, finding ways to impact games with his smart corner work, nifty slide passes and elite vision with the puck on his stick. He represented Finland in last year’s 4 Nations clash, where he scored four points (3-1=4) in three matches.
Including the World Junior Championships, World Championships, 4 Nations, Olympics and World Cup, this will be Granlund’s 14th time representing Finland on the international stage. Granlund is expected to start on Roope Hintz’s wing and opposite Mikko Rantanen, a line that played over 147 minutes together during the Dallas Stars’ 2025 playoff run to the Western Conference Finals.
Preliminary schedule: 02/12/26 at 7:40 a.m. PST against Canada, 02/13/26 at 7:40 a.m. PST against France, 02/15/26 at 3:10 a.m. PST against Switzerland
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Ducks captain Radko Gudas (35) will wear an “A” for the 2026 Czech team, hoping to lead them to a medal in what will likely be his last opportunity to play on the Olympic stage. Gudas is in the final year of a three-year contract he signed with the Ducks in 2023 and earned the captain’s job ahead of the 2024-25 season.
He will look to translate his physical nature to the biggest international stage and ensure that his Anaheim teammate, Dostal, can see most of the pucks coming his way when Gudas is on the ice and erase any loose rebounds. He’s had a bounce-back year for the Ducks and is one of their most reliable defensemen with his no-nonsense brand.
He has ten points (1-9=10) in 43 games with the Ducks this season. Gudas projects to play second-pair minutes alongside Michal Kempny (35), who played 247 NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals, but now plays in the SHL with Damian Clara for Brynas IF.
Gudas last represented Czechia at the 2024 World Championships, where he notched an assist in ten matches and won the gold medal ahead of Dostal.
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Preliminary schedule: 02/12/26 at 12:10 p.m. PST vs. Latvia, 02/14/26 at 12:10 p.m. PST vs. Denmark, 02/15/26 at 12:10 p.m. PST vs. Germany
LaCombe was a late addition to the U.S. roster after Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones suffered a broken collarbone during the NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2. LaCombe was considered a surprise addition, as he was selected to replace a straight-shooting Jones and selected ahead of a talented offensive defenseman in Lane Hutson.
LaCombe burst onto the scene during his 2024-25 campaign, where he solidified himself as the Ducks’ No. 1 defenseman, the team’s first defenseman on the boards in all situations (even strength, power play, penalty kill). After a relatively slow start to the 2025-26 season, LaCombe further improved his game and tallied 37 points (6-31-37) in 56 games for the Ducks while playing 19:00 TOI at even strength per game, 2:16 on the penalty kill and 3:14 on the power play.
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He’s tiptoed the line between casual and collected this season, but has mostly erred on the side of “coolness” in recent months for Anaheim. He is an elite defender and escape specialist with a high success rate on his activations in all three zones. He improved his defensive zone coverage habits as the year went on.
LaCombe represented the United States with Ducks teammate Cutter Gauthier at the 2025 World Championships, where he scored five points (2-3=5) in ten games en route to the United States’ first gold medal at the event in 92 years.
If the lines and practice pairings are to hold, LaCombe is the clear eighth defender on the U.S. roster. The United States has a relatively light schedule, as they will avoid hockey’s powerhouses in the preliminary round, so he could get ice time against Latvia and/or Denmark in their first two games, with more ice time for him in the air and likely determined by potential injury or insufficient play from others on the blue line.
Note:
Ducks center Leo Carlsson was originally selected to represent Sweden in the Olympic tournament, but underwent surgery to treat a rare thigh injury. He was given a 3-5 week recovery schedule on January 16, but the future face of Swedish hockey will not be able to compete in Milan in what would have been his first Olympics. He was replaced on the Swedish roster by Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Johansson.
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