USA Olympic Hockey Team 2026 Men, Women's Starting Rosters, Subs, Bracket Predictions

The United States is expected to be a gold-medal contender in both men's and women's hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The men's hockey team will feature NHL players for the first time in a decade. Most of the roster is similar to the team that participated in last year's Four Nations Face Off.

The women's hockey team is looking to get back on top of the Olympic podium for the first time since 2018 and just the third time in program history.

Both squads' top competition will be Canada. The Canadians have been the dominant force in both men's and women's hockey for most of the last few decades.

Men's Hockey Team

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The United States men's hockey team is looking for its first Olympic gold medal since the "Miracle on Ice" team won in Lake Placid in 1980.

The Americans were drawn into Group C alongside Germany, Latvia and Denmark. The game against the Leon Draisaitl-led German squad is the only threatening matchup on paper.

First place in the group stage would send the Americans straight into the quarterfinals. Sweden, Canada and Finland are the other top contenders to win gold in Milan.

Team USA's roster is headlined by Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, Quinn and Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews and Tage Thompson.

The lineup combinations will be known once the Americans step foot in Milan. The NHL concludes its pre-Olympic schedule on Thursday.

We should expect to see the Tkachuk brothers together in some capacity, as well as New York Rangers teammates J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck.

A top defense pairing of Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber makes a load of sense too because they play together with the Minnesota Wild.

The expectation is to win the gold, but at minimum the Americans should reach the semifinals and be in a position to play for a medal.

Prediction: Loses Gold Medal Game to Canada.

Women's Hockey Team

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The American women will try to break Canada's dominance in Olympic women's hockey.

The United States won in 2018, but that was more of an outlier since Canada won five of the last six Olympic golds in women's hockey.

Captain Hilary Knight will be playing in her fifth Olympics. She is a one-time gold medal winner and a three-time runner-up at the Olympic level.

Kendall Coyne Schofield and Alex Carpenter are among the other veterans within the squad.

The Americans reside in a five-team group alongside Canada, Finland, Czechia and Switzerland in the group stage.

The February 10 meeting with Canada, which serves as the group finale, will be the litmus test for the Americans and their gold-medal quest.

Team USA and Canada likely won't meet each other again until the final, which is where the result really matters.

Canada's had the edge at the Olympic level, and until it is dethroned, the Americans have to be viewed as the second favorite.

Prediction: Loses to Canada in Gold Medal Game