NHL players are back in the Olympics for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, which means this tournament will truly feature the best of the best men's hockey players in the world.

The tournament is comprised of 12 teams which are seeded and broken into three groups. Countries play a round robin within their group, and the top teams advance to the quarterfinals.

Canada, Finland, USA, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and Czechia qualified for the Olympics based on the 2023 IIHF world rankings.

Italy was guaranteed a spot in the tournament as the host country and Slovakia, Latvia, Denmark and France gained entrance after an Olympic qualification tournament.

After the preliminary round, the three group winners, as well as the best-performing runner-up, advance directly to the quarterfinals. The remaining eight teams play in a qualification playoff round to compete for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Canada:

The Canadian men's squad is led by three-time Olympian and captain Sidney Crosby who won gold in 2010 and 2014, and the rest of the roster is packed with NHL stars including Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and young phenom Macklin Celebrini.

In Olympic history, Canada has won nine gold medals in the men's hockey tournament, and they're expected to contend for it at Milan Cortina alongside the United States. The rival North American countries last met in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off final and Canada defeated the U.S. in overtime.

Finland:

Finland is the defending Olympic champion after the country won its first gold medal in men's or women's hockey at the 2022 Beijing Games. While NHL players were initially planning to participate in the last Winter Olympics, the league eventually pulled out of competition due to "COVID-related events."

The 2026 Finnish squad is stacked with NHL players and only has one team member that doesn't compete in the league.

USA:

The U.S. is in search of the first men's hockey Olympic gold since the "Miracle on Ice" Games in Lake Placid 46 years ago. The Americans are led by captain Auston Matthews, and the team has declared "gold or bust" at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games. 

The star-studded roster of NHL players is made up of 23 members who will compete in the Olympics for the first time, including Charlie McAvoy and Jack Eichel.

The U.S. team features two sets of star siblings: Jack and Quinn Hughes, and Brady and Matthew Tkachuk. 

Germany:

The German men are captained by Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl. He's the highest-scoring Germany-born player in NHL history. Germany is represented by seven NHL players total.

Sweden:

Sweden is led by captain and Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog. The Swede took home silver at the 2014 Sochi Games the last time NHL players competed in the Olympics.

Switzerland:

The Swiss squad has ten NHL players and is led by Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators. Josi competed for Switzerland in the 2014 Olympics when the team lost in the qualification playoff round. 

Czechia:

While Czechia has 11 NHL players represented, Roman Cervenka of HC Dynamo Pardubice, will captain the team through the men's Olympic hockey tournament. The Czech men are also led by Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak who scored the game winner in the country's 2024 IIHF World Championship title win.

Italy:

The host country is the only team in the tournament without a single NHL player. They last competed when the tournament was hosted in Turin, Italy, in 2006. Thomas Larkin will lead the Italians on home ice, and he's said he thinks being the underdog can work to the team's advantage.

Slovakia:

Slovakia has seven NHL players including Erik Cernak (Tampa Bay Lightning), Martin Fehervary (Washington Capitals) and fan favorite Juraj Slafkovsky (Montreal Canadiens). Slafkovsky led Slovaka to its first-ever Olympic medal when they took home bronze at the 2022 Games and he was named the tournament's most valuable player. He went on to be the first-overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft.

Latvia:

Latvia has seven NHL players including two teammates from the Florida Panthers, Sandis Vilmanis and Uvis Balinskis. 

Denmark:

Denmark features six NHL players including Carolina Hurricanes teammates Nikolaj Ehlers and Frederik Andersen.

France:

France features one NHL player Alexandre Texier of the Montreal Canadiens. The French are captained by Pierre-Edouard Bellemare who spent a decade in the NHL.

Reuters contributed to this report.