Connor McDavid shares his honest assessment of Team USA

Connor McDavid knows it is not going to be a walk in the park for Canada in the gold-medal match against Team USA.

Canada and the United States are the last two teams standing in the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics, and they are on a collision course in a massive showdown for the gold on Sunday at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan.

McDavid praised Team USA’s talent ahead of the big game but remained confident in Canada, which is also loaded with elite players from top to bottom.

“They look very strong,” the three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner said, via Michael Traikos of The Hockey News. 

“They have a very good back end, they’ve got a great goaltender, they’re strong up front. It’s Team USA. They’ve got great players everywhere, and so do we. It’s going to be a great game.”

Both Canada and the United States parade many of the best players in the NHL today, including none other than McDavid, who is widely regarded as the top hockey talent in the world.

Alongside the Edmonton Oilers star are the likes of Macklin Celebrini,  Nathan MacKinnon, Mitch Marner and Mark Stone.

Team USA, on the other hand, features a lineup including Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel and brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, but their defense could be the key to topping the Canadians.

Connor Hellebuyck leads all goalies in the 2026 Olympics with a 1.23 goals-against average, while the Americans’ blue line has Quinn Hughes, Charlie McAvoy, Jaccob Slavin and Zach Werenski, among others.