Welcome back to… record scratch… Welcome to our first edition of Olympic hockey predictions here at Last Word On Hockey, where we will be covering the men’s ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics each day throughout the preliminary round and beyond.

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are underway in Italy and several Devils are taking part, representing their countries in Men’s Ice Hockey: Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler (Switzerland),

San Jose Sharks forward Pavol Regenda would love his second trip to the Winter Olympic Games to go as well as his first. Regenda was part of a Slovakian team in 2022 that at first had modest expectations going into the Games in Beijing.

MILAN -- The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 men’s hockey tournament begins Wednesday when the 12 nations compete in three groups. Group A consists of Canada, Czechia, France and Switzerland. Finland, Italy, Sweden and Slovakia will play in Group B. Group C features Denmark, Germany, Latvia and the United States.

Returning to the crease, Finland No. 1 Juuse Saros posted a high-end .943 save percentage and 1.67 GAA during the World Championship last spring, while likely Slovak starter Samuel Hlavaj is struggling in the AHL with respective .884 and 3.33 marks.

Get to know how the Olympic tournament is set up ahead of the preliminary round.

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games Men's Hockey Event The main event of the Olympic Winter Games is slotted to feature a competition among 12 participating teams in the 2026 Winter Olympics. These teams participating in the Winter Olympics shall be competing with other participants in different groups or categories.

The Men's Olympic Hockey Tournament opens on February 11, 2026, when Sweden battles Italy and Finland takes on Slovakia. What hockey bets are we making today?

The 2026 Winter Olympics, featuring 16 sports with 116 medal events, will take place from Feb. 4 to Feb. 22 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Preliminary events will begin on Feb. 4, the opening ceremony will be Feb.

If Sweden and Finland aren't at the top of Group B at the conclusion of the preliminary round, then the Olympics will have turned upside down.