Olympic Hockey 2026 Bracket, Top Starters and Best Jersey Photos for Roster

The 2026 Winter Olympics will be a sprawling affair. While Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo will serve as host cities, multiple regions will provide venues for the games' 116 medal events.

While the Milano Cortina will feature several specialized events that casual fans might not appreciate, ice hockey will not be one of those. The men's and women's tournaments figure to be two of the biggest international draws of the entire Olympics.

Hockey will also be a fixture throughout the game. The first preliminary matches in the women's bracket will take place on Thursday, February 4, and the men's gold-medal game won't take place until February 22.

Here, we'll preview the men' s and women's brackets, examine some of the top starters on Team USA's rosters, and take a look at this year's uniforms.

Team USA Men's Roster

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Jack Eichel

Team USA announced its men's roster in early January, and there weren't too many surprises on the list. In fact, the lineup looks quite similar to the roster that took the ice in last year's 4-Nations Face Off.

22 of the 25 players named to the Olympic roster were part of the 4-Nations squad that finished second to Team Canada in 2025. While Team USA is certainly hoping for a better finish this time around, that preexisting chemistry will be an asset.

And it's a star-studded roster headlined by NHL stars like two-time All-Star and Stanley Cup champion Matthew Tkachuk, Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, and four-time All-Star Jack Eichel. The group looks quite a bit different than it did in the last couple of Olympics, as the NHL only recently allowed its stars to participate.

NHL players most recently participated in 2014.

"It's awesome," Eichel said, per The Associated Press. "It's something that we've wanted for a while."

Of course, this means that Team USA won't be the only roster filled with top NHL starters.

Team Canada, for example, will feature the likes of Sydney Crosby, Brad Marchand, and three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner Connor McDavid.

Complete men's rosters for all teams can be found at NHL.com.

Team USA unveiled its sweaters for the 2026 Olympics back in November.

The Nike-designed jersey is inspired by the sweaters worn by the 1960 men's Olympic hockey team—the squad that brought home Team USA's first gold.

Colored in red, white, and blue, the jerseys feature "USA" in bold, diagonal font on the front, along with a USA Hockey crest.

Team USA Women's Roster

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Team USA Women's Hockey Team

The United States' women's roster is also loaded, led by Seattle Torrent captain Hilary Knight. The 2023 IHF Female Player of the Year will be participating in her fifth Olympic Games.

Other notable stars include Minnesota Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, Ottawa Charge defender Rory Guilday, and University of Wisconsin star Laila Edwards.

Edwards was named the MVP of the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship, while Schofield was part of the Team USA squad that took gold at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.

In 2022, the women's team took silver behind Team Canada. Obviously, the team would love to come out on top this time around.

"Another gold medal would be awesome," Knight said, per Marisa Marcellino of Olympics.com. "I would like to go out from my Olympic career on a high note, sort of that storybook ending."

The women's and men's uniforms are essentially identical and were unveiled at the same time:

Bracket Preview

B/R

As previously mentioned, the first women's games will take place on February 5. Team USA will be in action that day in a preliminary group match against Czechia. The women's gold medal game is scheduled for Thursday, February 19.

The men's prelims will begin on Wednesday, February 11. The United States' men's team will be in action on February 12 against Latvia. The men's gold medal game will take place on Sunday, February 22.

The Olympics' closing ceremony will also take place n February 22 at Verona Arena.

While Team USA is expected to fare well in both the men's and women's brackets, it will face stiff competition from the likes of Team Canada, Sweden, Finland, and Czechia.

According to ESPN, the U.S. women's team is the favorite to win gold at -120 (net $120 to win $100 odds), while Canada, Czechia, and Finland round out the early favorites.

Women's Olympic Hockey Gold Medal Odds (per ESPN)

USA -120

Canada -105

Czechia 25-1

Finland 30-1

Sweden 65-1

Per ESPN, Team USA is the second-favorite in the men's bracket behind Team Canada.

Men's Olympic Hockey Gold Medal Odds (per ESPN)

Canada +115 (bet $100 to win $100)

USA +180

Sweden +600

Finland 10-1

Czechia 16-1