The United States goal at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo is simple. It is to win Olympic gold. The Americans finished second behind Canada at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and the 2025 Four Nations Faceoff Final in Boston.
You could make the argument that the two aforementioned finals (first won by Canada with a score of 3-2 on an overtime winner by Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, and then won by Canada with a score of 3-2 again on an overtime winner by Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid of Richmond Hill, Ontario) could have gone either way. The games were evenly matched, and the Canadians had the combination of better goaltending and puck luck when the games mattered most.
The fact that the United States were second in both of these tournaments have seemed to fire them up. At the American Olympic Orientation Camp in Plymouth, Michigan, the general feeling was simple. A silver medal is not acceptable this time around. The Americans will be disappointed if they come away with anything less than first place.
Who are the top American players expected to be on the team?
The focus for Team USA will be goaltending. American netminder Connor Hellebuyck of Commerce Township, Michigan, won the Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy this past season with the Winnipeg Jets. It has been well known that Hellebuyck has been excellent in the regular season and absolutely awful in the playoffs. The Americans will hope Hellebuyck will have a change in mental toughness or we will see Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger of Lakeville, Minnesota in the American net. That said, Oettinger has been dominated by Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner in the last two Western Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup Finals.
At forward, there were two Americans in the top 10 in scoring this past season. Hellebuyck’s Winnipeg Jets teammate Kyle Connor of Shelby Township, Michigan had 41 goals and 56 assists for 97 points (seventh most points in the NHL), and Vegas Golden Knights Jack Eichel of North Chelmsford, Massachusetts had 28 goals and 66 assists for 94 points (eighth most points in the NHL).
The United States have won two gold medals in men’s hockey in the past. The first came at the 1960 Olympic Winter Games in Squaw Valley, and the second came at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid.
