MILAN — The USA men's hockey team takes the ice for the first time at the 2026 Winter Olympics today and faces Latvia at Milano Santagiulia Arena.
The Americans come to the tournament with high expectations and a roster loaded with NHLers at every position. With Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman, there's no team that can match the goaltending depth. The talent up front includes Auston Matthews and brothers Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, and on the back end, Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy.
"We're in the red, white and blue and competing and representing the best country in the world," Matthew Tkachuk said. " It's an unbelievable honor. We're very excited to start playing."
This is the first preliminary game for the Americans. They play Denmark on Saturday and Germany on Sunday. If the Americans win their group, they'll get a bye into the next round.
Hellebuyck, the Americans' No. 1 man at last year's 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, gets the start against Latvia.
