For the first time in nine years, the league’s top players will showcase their skills on the international stage. Nico Hischier, who grew up in Switzerland, always dreamed of competing in the Winter Olympics. I never experienced what he said.
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Hischier’s Olympic Aspirations
The countdown is on for Hischier, who hopes to join the NHL’s best at the Milano Cortina winter Olympics in February 2026. This season serves as a lead-up to that long-awaited comeback as the NHL has not allowed players of her at the Olympics since 2014.
Hischier and the New Jersey Devils open the season in Prague against the Buffalo Sabres, two more games are in Finland this fall and the 4 Nations Face-off is a four-team preview leading up to February’s main event as the league and players come together.
Our players — winter Olympics aside — have a history and a tradition of representing their countries, whether it’s youth or world championships commissioner Gary Bettman told The Associated Press last month. We are the most global of the four major North American sports. There’s no doubt about that and there’s no doubt about how our players feel about representing their countries.
NHL Season Features International Matchup: 4 Nations Showdown as a Winter Olympics Preview
The IIHF Men’s World Championship overlaps with the Stanley Cup playoffs, and NHL players missed the last two Winter Olympic. The last time the sport’s cream of the crop played in the same tournament was the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and it even wore an asterisk because of the format that moved USA and Canada’s 23-and-over stars to Team North America and brought together those from Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany and elsewhere to form Team Europe. You can read Winter Olympic 2026: Harvard Women’s Ice Hockey Heads to Belfast for 2026 Friendship Series
Never before have Americans Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Patrick Kane and Adam Fox — let alone the nation’s elite stable of goaltenders — been able to play together internationally. The same goes for Canada’s Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
The original idea was to host a World Cup in the winter of 2024, but Russia’s war in Ukraine complicated the planning and pushed the event back. The result is a 4 Nations showdown featuring the USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland playing in Montreal and Boston instead of the All-Star festivities.
Mini World Cup Set to Build Momentum Ahead of winter Olympic 2026
You could describe it as a mini World Cup, as NHL Players Association executive director Marty Walsh mentioned to the AP. With the 2026 winter Olympic Milano Cortina on the horizon, there’s a lot of discussion about enhancing the tournament. This is taking shape, and we are actively working on these initiatives. It’s building that momentum.
Walsh, the former U.S. labor secretary who previously served as Boston mayor, felt the buzz at home during the summer among fans already looking forward to games at the Bruins’ downtown arena.
The 4 Nations clash was unveiled last All-Star weekend at the same time as the deal to send players to the next two winter Olympics, including 2030 in France. This removes the pain of not being included this year for players from other countries.
Excitement Builds Among NHL Players for Upcoming Winter Olympic Participation
They signed two Olympians, NHL player deals, so I guess you can take that as a little plus Czech winger David Pasternak of the Bruins said. They signed (for) the Olympics. I can already see the winter Olympic agreement coming together. The participation in the Olympics, which hinges on an agreement with the IIHF and IOC, was included in the extension of the collective bargaining agreement that was reached in 2020 when the league and union negotiated the end of the season during the pandemic.
The players, who were raised in an era when winter Olympic participation was common, were disappointed about not attending the 2018 Games in South Korea. Additionally, scheduling conflicts led the NHL to withdraw from the Beijing 2022 Olympics almost at the last moment. Bettman said a number of players approached him after the 2026 and 2030 winter Olympic deal was announced to say how excited they were to play on that stage.
NHL’s Global Ambitions and Upcoming Events
This was all about players wanting the best and representing their countries and having an opportunity to play on teams with players they wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to play with Bettman said. Yes, participating in the winter Olympics can be disruptive, but it’s the right decision. Bettman mentioned that the construction of the hockey arenas in Milan is back on track, which is a relief after some initial concerns.
However, there are more than 1,000 games scheduled before the next Olympics. The vast majority will take place in North America, but the spotlight also includes the Devils-Sabres games in Prague on Friday and Saturday and then the Dallas Stars and NHL champion Florida Panthers will play twice in Tampere, Finland, this November.
Expanding Hockey’s Global Presence
The long-term plan is to get on an annual calendar with the World Cup of Hockey in 2028 and ’32, with those tournaments and Global Series games in Europe increasing hockey’s footprint.
We have a fairly packed international schedule this season Walsh said It doesn’t have to be just a one-time event. You need to participate in those occasions, but the key is figuring out how to build momentum from them.
Nico Hischier: Captain and Star Performer
Hischier was appointed as the 12th captain in the history of the Devils on February 20, 2021. At age 22 years and 47 days, he became the second-youngest Devil to hold the position (Kirk Muller, 21 years and 243 days) and was joined Nashville Predators Defenseman Roman Josi is the second Swiss-born captain in NHL history.
Hischier ranked second among Devil forwards in ice time per game (19:17), first in short ice time per game (2:06) and possessions (64), and second in blocked shots (61), won 53.9 percent of faceoffs (third) and 57.8 percent of defensive draws (second), and had NHL career highs of 31 goals, 49 assists and 80 points in 2022 -23. He was nominated for the Selke Award, given annually to the forward voted best for excellence in the defensive aspects of the game, as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, for the first time.
On the international stage, Hischier recorded seven points (four goals and three assists) in five games for Switzerland during the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship, including two goals against the United States in the quarterfinals.
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