MILAN – Connor McDavid was among the first Canadians to step on the ice.
The superstar centre has desperately wanted NHL players under the Olympic spotlight.
That first twirl at the Milan Cortina Games was a moment he won’t soon forget.
McDavid and the rest of the men’s national team held its first practice Sunday evening as the hockey power’s top talent began preparations in earnest for a tournament that’s been 12 years in the making.
“Surreal,” McDavid said. “A long time coming … excited to be here, represent my country and be a part of a great group.”
The league is back at the Olympics after choosing to skip the 2018 event for financial reasons before a potential return in 2022 was squashed by COVID-19 concerns. The NHL went to five Games between 1998 and 2014, with Canada capturing gold in 2002 and 2010, and then repeating four years later.
“It’s an honour,” said fellow centre Nathan MacKinnon, another Olympic rookie. “Very, very proud to be here.”
Sidney Crosby, named captain earlier in the day, and defenceman Drew Doughty are back in 2026 as the only players on the roster with Games experience after capturing gold in both 2010 and 2014.
“There’s some days that it feels like 12 years and other days where it feels like yesterday,” Crosby said. “There’s been a lot of anticipation ever since we found out we were going back.”
Canadian head coach Jon Cooper said it was “humbling” to walk into the Olympic Village after getting off a chartered flight from North America earlier in the day.
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“You’re surrounded by the world’s greatest athletes,” he said. “It’s eye-opening. I’ve watched the Olympics my entire life. Now to actually be here and see it and see the passion … super cool.”
Cooper put his players right to work at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena for a practice with an unusual 7:45 p.m. local start.
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He stressed line combinations could change — just as they did at the 4 Nations Face-Off some 12 months ago — but the most intriguing trio on Day 1 saw McDavid skate between 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini and bruising winger Tom Wilson.
“These guys made this team for a reason,” Cooper said. “A lot of preparation went into this about who’s going to play with who and what works and what doesn’t … there’s a lot of communication.”
McDavid said Celebrini, who made the team after a strong showing at last spring’s world championship along with a red-hot start to the NHL season, and the hard-nosed, physically punishing Wilson offer varying attributes.
“Definitely a good blend of different things,” McDavid said. “Put together, I think we’ll make a good line.”
Crosby, meanwhile, was between Mark Stone and Mitch Marner, while MacKinnon skated with Nick Suzuki and Mark Stone. The fourth trio consisted of Bo Horvat, Brandon Hagel and Sam Reinhart. Sam Bennett and Seth Jarvis served as the extra forwards.
Cale Makar and Devon Toews made up the top defence pair, while Josh Morrissey and Colton Parayko, Shea Theodore and Travis Sanheim, and Doughty and Thomas Harley rounded out the blue-line tandems. The goaltending duties, meanwhile, will be handled by Jordan Binnington, Logan Thompson and Darcy Kuemper.
The Canadian roster looks similar to the one that beat the United States in a dramatic 4 Nations final — an event that served as an appetizer to the main event in Milan — but the brain trust had to make two injury replacements before flying to Europe, with Bennett and Jarvis subbing in for Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point.
“Two of the hardest conversations I’ve ever had in my life,” said Cooper, who coaches Cirelli and Point with the Tampa Bay Lightning. “They’ll always be with us, but I know that if those two guys had a choice of who got to take their spots, pretty sure they’d be pretty pumped that Jarvis and Benny were here.”
The men’s tournament gets going Wednesday at Santagiulia, which is quite possibly the most talked about rink in the world over the last few months because of construction delays and concerns about readiness of the ice surface.
The facility, however, is up and running after hosting a handful of women’s games over the last week without major issues.
Canada opens Thursday in Group A against Czechia before facing Switzerland on Friday and wrapping up round-robin play Sunday against France. Sweden, Finland, Slovakia and hosts Italy comprise Group B, while the field is rounded out by the United States, Germany, Latvia and Denmark in Group C.
The top seed in each pool along with the country owning the next-best record automatically move on to the quarterfinals. The other eight teams will face elimination in a qualification round, with the winners making up the remaining field for the quarters.
“There’s expectations and there’s pressure that comes with it,” Crosby said of his message to a roster largely set to experience the Olympics for the first time. “But it’s about our group trying to be the best team we can.
“It’s on all of us to help each other.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 8, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
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