The men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, gets underway on Wednesday. The tourney games will be played at two different venues: Santaguila Arena (also known as Arena Milano) in Milan and Rho Arena.
The Flyers have three players — goaltender Dan Vladar (Czechia) and defensemen Travis Sanheim (Canada) and Rasmus Ristolainen (Finland) — participating in the tournament. Additionally, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet serves as an assistant coach for Team Canada.
Following is the schedule of preliminary round games involving the three Flyers players. Both Canada and Czechia play in Group A while Finland is in Group B. Team USA plays in Group C. Also keep in mind that, under IIHF rules, teams can dress 20 skaters per game; 13 forwards and seven defensemen.
Wednesday, Feb. 11: Finland vs.Slovakia 10:40 a.m EST, (USA, TSN, CBC)
Due to injury issues overlapping with past international tournaments including the 4 Nations Face-Off last year, the 2026 Olympics marks the first time since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey that Ristolainen will suit up for the Finnish national team. He could see playing time on the right side of a defensive pairing with Dallas Stars standout Miro Heiskanen. Team Finland has a history of coming together in international tournaments and becoming something more than the sum of its individual parts,
Thursday, Feb. 12: Czechia vs. Canada 10:40 a.m EST (USA, CBC)
At the 4 Nations Face-Off, Sanheim was not in the lineup for Team Canada in the opening game. Thereafter, he dressed for the remainder of the tourney and played well. This year, his inclusion on the Canadian Olympic team was expected. Meanwhile, the Czechs enter the Olympics with something to prove. Vladar said last Thursday that the Czechs collectively took their non-inclusion in the 4 Nations field personally. The Czech squad has three quality NHL netminders in Vladar, Karel Vejmelka (Utah Mammoth) and Lukas Dostal (Anaheim Ducks). There could be competition for medal round playing time over the course of the preliminary round matches.
Friday, Feb. 13: Finland vs. Sweden 6:10 a.m.EST (USA, TSN)
An early morning matchup for viewers in the United States and Canada, this game marks a renewal one of one of international hockey’s prime rivalries. The Flyers do not have any players on Team Sweden this year (goalie Samuel Ersson played at the 4 Nations in 2025), but their roster is loaded with familiar NHL names including William Nylander, Filip Forsberg and Mika Zibanejad up front, Victor Hedman, Rasmus Dahlin and Erik Karlsson on defense and goaltenders Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt. On the Finnish side, the Dallas trio of Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz and Heiskanen will all play crucial roles in determining how far the team can go. Twelve years ago, at the World Junior Championships, Ristolainen scored the gold medal winning goal.
Friday, Feb. 13: France vs. Czechia, 10:40 a.m. EST (SN, CBC)
David Pastnak and company will be strongly favored to win this game. However, France has pulled off a few major preliminary round upsets over the last 15 years at the IIHF World Championships. Team Czechia, meanwhile, may do some experimentation with line combinations and their starting goalie in this game.
Friday, Feb. 13: Canada vs. Switzerland, 3:10 p.m. EST (CBC)
The Swiss have become a regular top preliminary round team at the IIHF Worlds. The Olympics are a different story. The Swiss side relies heavily on team defense and trying to scratch out low-scoring wins. They did just that against Canada at the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy, with a shocking 2-0 shutout upset. One game early, the Swiss side beat the Czechs, 3-2, with the same formula. Two decades later, the Canadians will be on guard against a similar outcome.
Saturday, Feb. 14: Finland vs. Italy, 10:40 a.m. EST (USA, SN, CBC)
Santagiulia Arena will be rollocking, no matter how their prohibitive underdog national team fares against the Finns. The Lions’ mission to take control quickly and prevent the match from turning into a much tougher match than it seems on paper.
Sunday, Feb. 15: Switzerland vs. Czechia, 6:10 a.m. EST (CNBC, SN)
The Czechs have to be prepared for the structured and opportunistic game that the Swiss play. Nevertheless, this a game the Czech side can dictate if they can play from ahead.
Sunday, Feb. 15: Canada vs. France, 10:40 a.m. EST (USA, CBC)
This is Canada’s final tuneup game before the medal round begins. It’s a chance to iron out any remaining kinks before the single elimination phase of the tourney. The quarterfinal round will be played on Feb. 18.