Competition gets underway on Wednesday for the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan. With NHL players set to hit Olympic ice for the first time since 2014, it’s sure to be an exciting tournament full of thrills and upsets.

Here’s a preview of the tournament’s opening two matches on Wednesday (all times listed in MT):

The tournament kicks off with a match between Slovakia and Finland. One of the four countries that participated in last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, Finland is considered one of the leading contenders to challenge for the podium this year, coming in as the defending Gold medalists (albeit the return of NHLers making it an entirely different tournament this year). At 4 Nations, they came away with an overtime win over Sweden, but fell to the United States and Canada. Despite missing 4 Nations captain Aleksander Barkov, who is out for the year with a knee injury, they boast a strong forward group headlined by Mikko Rantanen and Sebastian Aho.

But don’t count out Slovakia in this one. The Slovakians claimed bronze at the last Olympics, boosted by a tournament-leading seven-point performance from then-17-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky, who was named tournament MVP. Slovakia features the Calgary Flames’ sole entrant in this year’s Olympic Games in forward Martin Pospisil. The 26-year-old has only played seven games with the Flames so far this season, after missing the first 49 games of the year with a concussion. Pospisil has yet to record a point this year, but had three goals and four assists for the Slovakians at the 2024 IIHF World Championships, adding three assists in Olympic qualifying.

In the afternoon, Sweden take on the host country Italy in what will likely be a one-sided affair. The Swedes put up a strong showing at 4 Nations, emerging as the only team to not suffer a regulation loss, beating the United States and losing to Canada and Finland in overtime. They boast major top-six talent, and a deep blue line that includes former Flame Rasmus Andersson.

Italy meanwhile comes into the tournament without any NHL experience across their entire roster (Anaheim Ducks goaltending prospect Damian Clara is the only Italian player even signed to an NHL contract). Sweden may have to begin the tournament without star forward William Nylander, but they are still expected to beat the Italians handily.

Catch Every Goal from the 2026 Milan Games! The 2026 Milan Games are almost here, and the world’s best men’s and women’s hockey players are ready to battle for gold! The Nation Network is bringing you every game, every jaw-dropping save, and all the drama with live reaction streams and full recaps. Don’t miss a moment of Olympic hockey action—men’s, women’s, and everything in between—on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel. Subscribe now and stay on top of every play!