The men's tournament in Vancouver features 12 teams, split into three groups: Canada, the United States, Switzerland and Norway in Group A; Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Latvia in Group B; and Sweden, Finland, Belarus and Germany in Group C. The tournament begins on Feb. 16, 2010 and medal games will be played on Feb. 28. For more on the men's tournament format, click here.

The women's tournament features eight teams, split into two groups: Canada, Sweden Switzerland and Slovakia in Group A; and the United States, Finland, Russia and China in Group B. The tournament begins on Feb. 13 and medal games will be played on Feb. 25. For more on the women's tournament, click here.

Most of the players in the men's tournament will be NHL players. The league will schedule a break in the 2009-10 season to allow players to compete in Vancouver, in lieu of the break for an all-star game. Though professionals have been allowed to compete since the 1988 Calgary Games, the NHL blocked its star players from leaving their teams to play in the Olympics until 1998.

Canada Hockey Place, regularly known as General Motors Place and home to the NHL's Vancouver Canucks, and the University of British Columbia's Thunderbird Arena will host the ice hockey competition. The tournaments will be played on North American-sized ice surfaces, rather than the larger international size that is normally used in Olympic competition. Click here for more on the differences between Olympic and NHL rules.

Men's tournament

Torino recap: Swedes take men's gold
Behind the leadership of veterans and the goaltending of a rising star, Sweden took gold in Torino, beating Finland in an unlikely final. Both teams were loaded with NHL players, but each succeeded by operating as a unit and not a collection of stars. Team Canada, stacked with big-name talent, fell in the quarterfinals to Russia -- a hugely disappointing result for the 2002 gold medalists. Russia also had a star-studded lineup, but suffered from the same lack of cohesiveness. Still, the Russians rode on the backs of a few talented players to the semifinals. There they were shut out 4-0 by Finland, who reached the finals undefeated. Czech Republic beat Russia for the bronze medal, a good result for the 1998 gold medalists, who fielded an experienced but aging team... Read more

Courtesy of VANOC

Vancouver's Canada Hockey Place

Vancouver: Home-ice advantage
After falling well short in Torino, the Canadian men will be seeking redemption in Vancouver, where the home crowd won't settle for anything less than gold. Canada enters the tournament as the top seed and obvious favorite, but the defending champion Swedes will bring a team featuring many of the same names as Torino. The silver medalist Finns also will have a lineup similar to Torino, perhaps this time even including top goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff. For Canada, a much younger group will be led by Sidney Crosby. Team Russia will feature high-profile players yet again, behind superstar Alexander Ovechkin. And the Czechs will be seeking a new identity with longtime leader Jaromir Jagr retired from the national team. The U.S. team, led by head coach Ron Wilson, figures to be much younger and less well-known this time around, with emerging talents Patrick Kane, Zach Parise and Phil Kessel as some of the leading contenders to make the team.

Women's tournament

Torino: Canadian women repeat
Heading into Torino, Canada and the United States were the superpowers of women's hockey. It was no surprise, then, when the Canadian women defended their gold medal. The surprise was who they beat: Sweden, not the U.S. -- who instead took bronze. It was the first time since 1990, when international competition began, that the U.S and Canada didn't meet in the championship match... Read more

Vancouver preview: Familiar favorites
Though the U.S. women won the 2008 and 2009 World Championships, Canada finished the year atop the rankings and will be the No. 1 seed in Vancouver. Finland took the No. 3 spot by winning bronze at the 2008 Worlds, passing Sweden in the rankings after the Swedish women were bumped from the bronze-medal game by Switzerland. As in Torino, a Canada-United States final seems likely, but the gap between the Big Two and the rest of the world continues to shrink. With two straight world titles, the U.S. women could be called the favorites, but the Canadians are close behind and will get a boost from the home crowd. Finland topped Sweden in the bronze-medal game at the 2009 Worlds, in what could be a preview of the Olympic matchup.