Over the next week or so, expect the various nations participating in the 2026 Olympic games to announce their rosters for the men’s hockey tournament.
It’s tough to click around wherever you consume your hockey media, whether its YouTube, The Athletic, Twitter, ESPN, NHL.com, or wherever it is and not see projected rosters from various content creators. And I get all that. It’s fairly easy content to create, it stirs up debate, which results in engagement, which is the endgame when it comes to content creation. We all want eyeballs on our content. And the fact of the matter is that there are many hockey fans who are indeed excited about the upcoming Olympic games, the first of which will feature active NHL players since 2014.
I am not one of those fans.
I might be in the minority with this opinion, but I don’t really care about Olympic hockey (or international hockey such as the Worlds or any other IIHF-sanctioned event). I’m a Devils fan, first and foremost. I root for the laundry at the end of the day, and I care about the players wearing said laundry. I root for the red, white, and black that the Devils wear instead of the red, white, and blue. I’m unapologetic about it as that’s simply how I feel. I don’t and never have had that same sense of attachment to Team USA hockey, even though I’m an American, as I do the Devils, who I have invested decades of fandom into.
Perhaps I’d feel differently if in my formative years, the Devils best players were American, but they weren’t as Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, and Martin Brodeur were fixtures on the Canadian national teams. It’s not that the Devils didn’t have American representation on the international scene, as Brian Gionta, Brian Rafalski, and Zach Parise would go on to represent the US. But at the end of the day, I view the Olympics as an exhibition and cheering for national pride. I don’t root against the US team, but I also don’t have that same passion for the American national team as I do for the Devils. I don’t think that makes me un-American so much as that’s just how I view my sports fandom. I don’t care if the Americans win a gold medal. I do care if the Devils win the Stanley Cup. One means far more to me than the other, and its as simple as that. Chris and the other writers on this site may feel differently. You may feel differently. That’s fine. We’re all entitled to our opinion.
I say all of that to say that I’m dreading the upcoming Olympic break and I wish as many Devils players as possible would simply stay home, rest up, and not participate.
I’m not naive. I know how much the Olympics means to the players themselves. NHL players haven’t been to the Olympics since 2014, so this is the first time most NHL players will get the opportunity to play in the Olympics. I understand that that trumps what I want as a fan.
My dread doesn’t change the fact that the Devils will be well-represented at the Olympics. Jack Hughes will make Team USA. Jesper Bratt and Jacob Markstrom will likely represent Team Sweden. Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Jonas Siegenthaler have already been named to the Swiss team. Ondrej Palat (Czechia) and Simon Nemec (Slovakia) will probably make their respective teams, and its possible players like Brett Pesce are on the short-list of “be ready” call ups just in case something happens. It is what it is. I don’t think the players should be vilified for wanting to represent their country or play in this tournament when this is something a lot of them have dreamed about doing ever since they put on skates for the first time.
It doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to be holding my breath every time our players take the ice in what I feel are meaningless games. Just like I did one year ago at Four Nations, where fortunately, the Devils who participated in that made it through the games relatively unscathed.
The difference is that this time, the games will be on a rink that is too small and in an arena that may or may not be finished. The clownshow that has been the buildup to these Olympic games would be reason enough for me to want to pull the plug on this, and I hope that the higher-ups at the NHL and/or the NHLPA give this serious consideration if there is even so much as a hint that this might not be a good idea or would compromise player safety.
I’m not expecting it.
Hockey is a physical game and that injury risk will always be there, and as we’ve already seen with the Devils this season, there’s a lot of randomness to this. But I certainly remember John Tavares’s season coming to an end due to a torn MCL at the Sochi games. I remember Dominik Hasek’s groin injury in Turin in 2006 ultimately costing a really good Ottawa Senators team a chance at a Stanley Cup that season. I’m also old enough to remember examples in other sports of players playing for the national team only to suffer a season-ending injury that derails the hopes of their pro team. You think the New York Mets were thrilled going 75-87 in part because Edwin Diaz hurt his knee celebrating a win during the World Baseball Classic, ending his season before it even began. I get players can get hurt in any game, in any setting, in any sanctioned league, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it while sitting on my couch watching the games, waiving a miniature American flag and saying ‘go team’ for a team I’m not all that invested in in the first place.
I’m not trying to carry water for the billionaires who own NHL teams, but they’re the ones signing the checks for their players to play in the NHL. The NHL teams are the ones assuming the risks and getting none of the rewards for letting the players play, which is part of the reason why the players haven’t been to the last few Olympics. Given my sports allegiance is to the Devils and not Team USA, I’m going to empathize with the NHL teams on this particular topic.
Now, maybe this is all much ado about nothing. Maybe the Devils players who do go are ultimately fine once they get back and we’ll forget all about this as the Devils prepare for the stretch run.
I just know that I don’t need to see Jack Hughes take another hard hit into the boards in a game where he’s not even wearing a Devils sweater. I don’t need to see Nico Hischier take an extra whack on the hands after a faceoff. I don’t need to see Pesce or Siegenthaler lay out to block a shot. Call it babying the players (who are well aware of the physical risks when they suit up for a game) if you are so inclined. I don’t really care.
I will be annoyed if a Devils player suffers a major injury in this tournament. Which is why I’d ultimately rather skip the process entirely. Unfortunately, I’m not going to get what I want here, which leaves me with preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.