Ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics explained

Event:Ice hockey
Games:2026 Winter
Venues:PalaItalia
Fiera Milano
Dates:5–22 February
Competitors:530
Num Events:2 (1 men and 1 women)
Prev:2022
Next:2030

The ice hockey competitions of the 2026 Winter Olympics will be played at two venues located in the Milan cluster: the PalaItalia and one of the Fiera Milano pavilions.

The men's tournament will have 12 teams competing, and the women's tournament 10.[1] Russia and Belarus are currently banned from competing in international championships through the IIHF's 2025 program due to their military aggression in Ukraine.[2] The decision on whether to expand the ban into 2026 has not been made yet the current ban has effectively disqualified Belarus from competing and may impact the championship further.

Men's tournament

See main article: Ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament. The tournament will feature twelve countries, eight qualifying through the IIHF World Ranking, the host Italy, and three through qualifying tournaments. The format remains the same as the previous three Olympics; three groups of four compete in three games to determine seeding, each play every other team in their group, followed by four rounds of elimination games. Each group winner receives a bye into the second round, along with the highest ranked of the remaining teams. The remaining eight teams play an eliminating qualification game to advance to the quarter-final round. Each quarter-final winner advances to the semi-finals with the winners playing for the gold medal and the losers playing for the bronze.

On 2 February 2024, the IIHF announced that an agreement had been reached that National Hockey League (NHL) players would participate in the Olympics for the first time since 2014. The NHL was originally scheduled to compete in 2022 as well but opted out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

Qualification

See main article: Ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Men's qualification. Qualification for the men's tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics was determined by the IIHF World Ranking following the 2023 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships. The top eight will be joined the hosts and three qualifiers.[1]

Participating nations

The groups were established following the 2023 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships.[4] Qualifiers one, two, and three, are the winners of the final qualification tournaments. Their designation will be determined by their qualification seeding.

Women's tournament

See main article: Ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament. Ten countries will again compete in the women's tournament, six qualifying through the IIHF World Ranking, the host Italy, and three through qualifying tournaments.

Qualification

See main article: Ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Women's qualification. Qualification for the women's tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics will be determined by the IIHF World Ranking following the 2024 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships.[1]

Participating nations

The groups will be established following the 2024 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships. Qualifiers one, two, and three, are the winners of the final qualification tournaments. Their designation will be determined by their qualification seeding.

Qualification summary / Participating NOC's

NationsMenWomenAthletes
48
48
48
25
48
48
25
48
48
Total: 9 NOCs 97386

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Qualification System – XXV Olympic Winter Games. Olympics.com. 2 December 2023.
  2. Web site: Russia and Belarus not reincorporated into 2024/2025 IIHF Championship Season. iihf.com. 14 February 2024.
  3. Web site: NHL players to return to Olympics in 2026 and 2030 . CNN.com. 2 February 2024. 3 February 2024.
  4. Web site: 2026 Men's Olympic Winter Games & Qualification Tournament Program. IIHF.com. 2 December 2023.