MILAN — Bill Guerin sounded eager, anxious and just a little tired all at the same time.
He’s finally about to see how the U.S. men’s hockey roster he spent months assembling fares at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where the men’s competition begins on Feb. 11, just three days after the players arrive.
‘It’s been a long time coming,’ the general manager of team for these Games told USA TODAY Sports on Saturday at an event at Starbucks Winter Lounge, a swanky players-and-family parlor dedicated to U.S. hockey, figuring skating and speed skating. ‘We’ve put a ton of work into it — management, USA Hockey, the players — we’ve been dying to get back to Olympics. So, I’m really just excited to get down to business.’
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The business begins with practices on Sunday, and games starting Feb. 11. The Americans’ first game is Feb. 12, against Group C cohort Latvia. Somewhere in that span, the U.S. will name it’s captain. The expectation is it’ll be Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs), but Guering wasn’t willing to discuss that Saturday.
The U.S. men’s hockey roster is incredibly deep, loaded with elite NHL players at every position and offering a mix of skill, grit and leadership.
‘I’m very confident in the team,’ Guerin said. ‘I believe in these guys. We have a lot of different ingredients in our lineup, and now it’s just a matter of putting it together on the ice. Like, we can look at our roster and say, it’s great. And we have a great team and that’s true, but we have to put it together on the ice. That’s the most important thing.’
Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman (Boston Bruins), Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Jake Oettinger (Dallas Stars) came over early to walk in the opening ceremony, but the rest of the NHL players (149 total) are scheduled to arrive on red-eye charters Sunday morning. Then it’s off to find their respective national teams and practice.
With 21 of 25 players having been on the team the U.S. fielded at the 2025 Four Nations Face-Off, there’s a measure of bonding and familiarity that should carry over and help at the Olympics.
‘A lot of these guys have played together in the past, when they were younger,’ Guerin said. ‘I think that’s what was so great about the Four Nations as well, is that these guys have all been teammates or for the most part have. So we just have to make sure that the chemistry is good and the camaraderie is good and go through this together.’
Two of the biggest returning names are brothers Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, who famously fought Sam Bennett and Brandon Hagel, respectively, during the first U.S. game against Canada. But that’s a no-no at the Olympics, as International Ice Hockey Federation rules forbid fighting and, should that rule be ignored, risks ejection and suspension.
‘These are all these are all big boys,’ Guerin said. ‘They’re all professionals and they know what to do.’
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