![\"Two-Time](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/NHL-Stars-React-to-Olympic-Return.png\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
NHL Stars React to Olympic Return<\/p>\n
After 12 years, NHL players will finally make their long-awaited return to the Olympics<\/a>. Some of the biggest stars in the league will take the ice<\/a> at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.<\/p>\n For some, it is a milestone moment, while for others, it represents one last chance to capture an Olympic medal. Last year\u2019s NHL<\/a> 4 Nations Face-Off tournament offered fans a glimpse of what they can expect, and it delivered.<\/p>\n Now, the top players in the world, including Sidney Crosby, Lucas Raymond, and Victor Hedman, will represent their countries on the world stage, vying for Olympics glory.<\/p>\n NHL Stars Discuss Significance of Participating at 2026 Winter Olympics<\/p>\n Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> captain Sidney Crosby<\/a> is no stranger to how an Olympic moment can become immortalized by a nation. Crosby scored the overtime-winning goal<\/a> against the United States in 2010, to win the gold medal for Canada on home ice.<\/p>\n Now a veteran nearing the final years of his career, Crosby shared his thoughts on returning for his third Olympics. He compared the honor of winning gold to hoisting the Stanley Cup with the Penguins.<\/p>\n \u201cI have it right up there with playing in the Stanley Cup finals. It\u2019s a different experience as far as it\u2019s a short-term event, but it\u2019s something that we all dream of being a part of,\u201d Crosby said in a video uploaded to the Olympics\u2019 YouTube channel<\/a>. \u201cI think I\u2019m just grateful for the opportunity to be able to do it again and would love to be able to win again.\u201d<\/p>\n Detroit Red Wings<\/a> forward Lucas Raymond<\/a>, playing in his first Olympics, emphasized the significance of representing Sweden on the world stage.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a huge honor obviously for your country,\u201d Raymond said. \u201cIf not the, one of the biggest things you can compete in as an athlete is the Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n Boston Bruins<\/a> defensemen Charlie McAvoy<\/a> echoed those sentiments and considers the Olympics the pinnacle of sports. McAvoy, who will represent Team USA<\/a>, noted that it has been something he has dreamed about.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the Olympics is as big as it gets in sports. It\u2019s just going to be incredible. It\u2019ll be a lifelong dream come true,\u201d McAvoy said. \u201cEverything from living in the village, to the games themselves, to the opening and closing ceremony, there\u2019s just so many things that exist in the Olympics that don\u2019t exist anywhere else that make it what it is, and make it as special as that.\u201d<\/p>\n Victor Hedman Expresses Gratitude for First Olympic Experience<\/p>\n Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> defenseman Victor Hedman<\/a>\u2018s path to the Olympics has been a long one, filled with plenty of uncertainty. He was in his rookie season in 2010 and wasn\u2019t selected. Then in 2014, he was notably omitted from Sweden\u2019s Olympic roster despite a strong season.<\/p>\n Now 35, Hedman is embracing the opportunity to represent Sweden and not taking it for granted. This could be his first and final Olympics, and aims to help Sweden capture gold.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be 35 when the games start. So possibly this is my last kick at the can,\u201d Hedman said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time coming. This is kind of the last thing on my list that I wanted to accomplish. And yeah, it\u2019s a dream come true for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Sweden aims to capture gold for the first time since 2006, which also took place in Italy.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tGiancarlo Aulino<\/a> Giancarlo Aulino is sports writer who covers UFC for Heavy.com. He began writing for Heavy in 2025 after providing MMA coverage for Sportskeeda. Giancarlo is an experienced journalist and interviewer, having covered soccer clubs Toronto FC and Inter Toronto FC as a full-season reporter, and also producing sports coverage for Toronto radio station VIBE 105.5FM.
\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Olympics\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty NHL Stars React to Olympic Return After 12 years, NHL players will finally make their long-awaited return…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-464892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n More about Giancarlo Aulino<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n