USA GM Lays Out Winter Olympics Expectations

The 2026 Winter Olympics will be an exciting and fiery tournament, continuing the rising standard of international hockey. Between the 4 Nations Face Off and the World Championships, the past year of international play has been some of the most exciting matchups in recent memory.

The past year has also been a promising stretch for the United States, who are hoping to end a 30-year gold medal drought at the upcoming games. Their general manager, Minnesota Wild executive Bill Guerin, laid out his expectations succinctly in a recent conversation with NHL.com. He expects the United States to leave the Milano Cortina games with a gold medal.

“We have to win," he said. "We have to win another one of these. It's been since 1996. We just have to find a way."

Team USA has come close over the last few years, and they’ve taken notable steps toward becoming the best hockey country in the world. They captured the IIHF World Championships gold medal earlier this year, breaking a 90-year drought for the United States. They also won the silver medal at the 4 Nations Face Off.

The big lesson Guerin took away from the two recent events is that the team makeup is critical. International tournaments tend to become an All-Star game of sorts when the NHL’s best are involved. With a glut of talented playmakers in the league, the United States could easily construct a roster of 12 point-per-game forwards, the six fastest defensemen, and leave superstar goalie Connor Hellebuyck to clean up the mess.

Guerin has learned that success comes from getting the right mix. That’s what the 1996 gold medal-winning team had, a team Guerin played for. That’s what Canada had at the 4 Nations Face Off where they captured gold, and USA carried the most balanced roster at the most recent World Championships. We all know how that turned out. Guerin touched on the difficult choice he faces for the roster at the 2026 Olympic Games, but his approach is to find the perfect blend of talent, grit, offensive superstardom and defensive commitment.

“We're in such a good place right now with the American player pool and we have so many guys to choose from that it does make it tough,” he said. ”We left some really good players off of the 4 Nations team, and we're going to have to do the same thing with the Olympic team. But we're going to take the guys we feel are going to give us the best chance to win. It doesn't always come down to points. It comes down to fit and role and all that stuff.”

If the fit and roles all come together, the United States have an excellent chance of ending their three decade drought at the Olympics. The task is gargantuan, but it’s clear that Guerin knows what he must do to build a winner for Team USA. Now, it’s up to him to make good on that knowledge and deliver the ideal roster to capture gold in Italy this winter.