While the women's tournament is well under way, the men's portion of hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina (Italy) is set to begin Wednesday.
That's the first of a five-day, round-robin format between 12 nations that will fill the appetite of even the most die-hard hockey fans.
Two Columbus Blue Jackets will be part of the games. Zach Werenski will represent Team USA and is expected to be a key player for the United States, while the other Blue Jacket representative is goaltender Elvis Merzlikins. He'll represent Latvia in the games and is expected to be the starting goaltender.
Here's what to know about the men's side of the 2026 Olympics:
Who Are The Teams, And How Does It Work?
The 12 teams in the tournament have been divided into three groups. Each team will play the other teams in their group once. A win is three points, an overtime or shootout win is two points, an overtime or shootout loss is one point, and a regulation loss is zero points.
The winner of each group, as well as the highest-ranked second place team, gets a bye into the second round of the single-elimination games. The other teams will play each other (5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, and 8 vs. 9) to determine the rest of the eight-team field.
Group A: Canada, Czech Republic, France, and Switzerland.
Group B: Finland, Italy, Slovakia, Sweden
Group C: Denmark, Germany, Latvia, and the United States.
Play will then proceed in a single-elimination format until a gold medal winner is determine. The two losers of the semi-final games will meet for in the bronze medal game.
When Do Werenski & Merzlikins Take The Ice?
Here's the schedule for both the United States and Latvia during round-robin play:
| Game | Day / Date | Time | Opponent | Television | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Thursday, Feb. 12 | 3:10p EST | vs. Latvia | USA/Peacock | |
| Game 2 | Saturday, Feb. 14 | 3:10p EST | vs. Denmark | USA/Peacock | |
| Game 3 | Sunday, Feb. 15 | 3:10p EST | vs. Germany | USA/Peacock | |
| Game | Day / Date | Time | Opponent | Television | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Thursday, Feb. 12 | 3:10p EST | vs. United States | USA/Peacock | |
| Game 2 | Saturday, Feb. 14 | 6:10a EST | vs. Germany | CNBC/Peacock | |
| Game 3 | Sunday, Feb. 15 | 1:10p EST | vs. Denmark | CNBC/Peacock | |
The first quarterfinal games will be Wednesday, Feb. 18. Semifinal games are scheduled for 10:40 a.m. and 3:10 p.m. starts on Friday, Feb. 20. The bronze medal game will be at 2:40 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, and the gold medal game is 8:10 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 22. All times are eastern.
Who Has The Best Chance Of Winning?
The United States and Canada are considered the heavy favorites to meet in the Gold medal game, but Sweden and Finland might have something to say about that. Barring an upset — perhaps by the Czech Republic, Germany, or Switzerland, — there's almost no chance that the final four teams playing aren't the same four (US, Canada, Sweden, Finland) from the well-viewed 2025 4 Nations tournament last February. Betting odds as of Tuesday, Feb. 10, give Canada a slight edge over the United States for the gold and Sweden with a similarly slight edge over Finland to take home the bronze.
And As For Elvis & Z?
Both players are going to be key contributors for their team. Werenski was fantastic last year at the 4 Nations Tournament and is having his second consecutive career year with the Blue Jackets. At practice so far, Werenski has been skating alongside Jake Sanderson of the Ottawa Senators. Jake is also the son of original Blue Jacket Geoff Sanderson. They've been on the third pairing, but the expectation is that Team USA will heavily balance their minutes defensively.
As for Merzlikins, he's likely to be the starter for at least two of Latvia's three games. Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs is the other netminder on the Latvian roster and could compete with Elvis for minutes, but Merzlikins is seen as the #1 goalie on the roster.
With both the US and Latvia in Group C, the two will face off each other and it'll be in the first game for each team, with Thursday's puck-drop between the two countries set for 3:10 p.m. eastern time.
