02/23/26 10:07:00
Printable Page
02/23 05:56 CST NHL's return to the Olympics lives up to the hype and sets the
stage for 2028 World Cup of Hockey
NHL's return to the Olympics lives up to the hype and sets the stage for 2028
World Cup of Hockey
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
MILAN (AP) --- The long wait for the best hockey players in the world taking
the ice in an international tournament lived up to the hype.
Four of the seven games in the knockout round at the Milan Cortina Olympics
went to overtime, including the U.S beating Canada in a fast-paced,
back-and-forth final for the gold medal. The sport earned the spotlight it got
in the NHL's return to the Games following a dozen-year drought.
"This is as good as it gets," U.S. forward Vincent Trocheck said. "They've got
to keep doing it."
That's the plan.
The league, union and International Ice Hockey Federation have an agreement to
participate in 2030 in the French Alps, pending finalizing a deal with the
International Olympic Committee. But the next chance for best-on-best country
versus country competition is not that far away: The World Cup of Hockey is set
for February 2028.
The NHL and NHLPA are in lock step on a lot of issues, including the aim of
establishing an international calendar with this kind of tournament every other
year. The IIHF is on board, too.
"The hockey world from NHL/NHLPA standpoint is in a better place when The
Players' Association and the league are cooperating and, internationally, when
these three organizations are collaborating the hockey world is in a better
place," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "And it gives us an opportunity to
grow the game in places where we're not as strong as, say, we are in North
America and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with (IIHF president
Luc Tardif) in furtherance of growing the game. That's the goal, and the more
things that we can figure out to do together, the better it will be for
everybody."
This was the sixth Olympics with NHL players since the precedent started in
1998 in Nagano. Skipping in 2018 and having 2022 get derailed by the pandemic
had a lot of people in Milan lamenting the situation --- but, in a way, the
absence made the experience fonder.
"It's been so long since the last one," Canada defenseman Drew Doughty said.
"Wish it had never happened this way, but here it is."
The U.S. won gold in men's hockey at an NHL Olympics for the first time, ending
Canada's run of two in a row and three of the past four. It was the country's
first since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice," though the only miraculous part of this
championship was how it took American Connor Hellebuyck turning in one of the
best hockey goaltending performances in international hockey history.
"He was our best player by a mile," Jack Hughes said after scoring the golden
goal in overtime, missing a tooth or two from a stick to the face earlier in
the game.
Hughes' goal came less than two minutes into 3-on-3 OT, which may be the
biggest thing from Milan that drew criticism and should change moving forward
--- at least in the gold-medal game and probably at the NHL and NHLPA-run World
Cup.
Canada coach Jon Cooper said playing 3 on 3 instead of 5 on 5, which is used to
settle NHL playoff games, is "not hockey anymore."
"There's a reason overtime and shootouts are in play: It's all TV-driven to end
games, so it's not a long time," Cooper said, referring to how games are
settled in the league during the regular season. "There's a reason why (3 on 3)
is not in the Stanley Cup Final or playoffs."
Following the U.S. victory and before the champagne and beer started flowing,
players on the winning side had no complaints.
"Right now, I think it's great," Brock Nelson said.
___
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
|
