Ranking the men's hockey teams at the 2026 Winter Olympics

NHL players are back in the Olympics for the first time since the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia, and the stage should be set for an incredible best-on-best tournament. The tournament gets underway next week, and there are some pretty clear contenders at the top, as well as some sleeper medal contenders. 

Let's take a look at which tier each team fits into and rank all 12 teams competing in the 2026 Men's Olympic hockey tournament. 

The gold medal contenders

1. Canada

Canada does have some weaknesses with its defensive depth and goaltending that could come back to haunt them. But the forward group is so good, and so deep, and has so many superstar-level players that it should be able to out-score any of those concerns. Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers), Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche) are probably three of the five or six best players in the world right now, and they all play here.

2. United States

The United States has faced justified criticism for not taking some of its best players (Specifically Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson and New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox), and that might keep them from winning a gold medal that should be within reach. But even with those decisions, this is still an outstanding team and arguably the best collection of talent the U.S. has sent to an Olympic hockey tournament. 

3. Sweden

The Swedes might have the best overall defensive group in the tournament with Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning), Erik Karlsson (Pittsburgh Penguins), Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres), Gustav Forsling (Florida Panthers) and Hampus Lindholm (Boston Bruins) leading the way. They should also have enough scoring to make them a serious medal contender. The big question is whether or not one of their goalies can step up. 

Probably playing for bronze

4. Finland

Finland is always a better team than its roster looks on paper, playing a structured, disciplined game that can wear teams down. If starting goalie Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators) is on top of his game, they will be a tough out. 

5. Czechia

The injury to Pavel Zacha (Boston Bruins) is going to cause some problems, and the defense and goaltending leave a lot to be desired, but the presence of David Pastrnak (Bruins) and Martin Necas (Avalanche) at forward offers two potential game-changers. 

6. Switzerland

The Swiss do not have a ton of star power beyond defenseman Roman Josi (Predators), but this is a team that always causes some problems at the Olympics and has pulled off some big upsets. Do not take them lightly. 

7. Germany 

Germany is the opposite of Switzerland in that it does not have great depth or any reliable goaltending, but has some serious star power at the top with Leon Draisaitl (Oilers), Tim Stutzle (Ottawa Senators) and Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings). Those three can take over games, and sometimes in a short tournament, that is all you need. This is a sleeper medal contender. 

Reaching the quarterfinals would be impressive

8. Denmark 

The defense is lacking a true top-pairing player that can compete with the other teams here, but Nikolaj Ehlers (Carolina Hurricanes), Oliver Bjorkstrand (Lightning) and Lars Eller (Senators) can at least help form a formidable forward group. Goalie Frederik Andersen (Hurricanes) is the X-factor here. He is a legitimate NHL goalie, and if he plays well, they could steal a game or two from somebody. 

9. Slovakia

There is just simply not a lot of big-time talent here after Juraj Slafkovsky (Montreal Canadiens), and goaltending is a major concern.

10. Latvia

There are a lot of medal contenders that would love to have Latvia's goaltending. It is just hard to see where any offense is going to come from here to make them seriously competitive. 

Thanks for participating 

11. France

The only reason the French team is even here is that the Russian team is not allowed to participate. They also have a really tough draw in a group with Canada, Czechia and Switzerland. 

12. Italy

The host nation has little chance to even win a single game, especially in a group with Sweden and Finland at the top. Even Slovakia will be too much for them.