Day 2 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics is in the books. It was a tough day for Canada on Sunday with no medals won and opportunities missed.
The mixed doubles curling team of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant saw their podium dreams painfully melt away early while the Canadian figure skating team found themselves in a team final at a level beyond them right now.
On the bright side, the Canadian men’s hockey team announced Sidney Crosby as the team’s captain. At the team’s first practice together, we caught a glimpse of what head coach John Cooper is thinking in terms of line combinations (McDavid with Celebrini!).
Looking south of the border, in unfortunate news, American ski star Lindsay Vonn suffered an awful crash during the women’s downhill event while making a comeback after six years away from the sport. Vonn, 41, was racing on a torn ACL. She was airlifted from the course by helicopter.
Peterman, Gallant’s Olympic dream ends in a whimper
Jocelyn Peterman of Canada reacts after losing with Brett Gallant against Rasmus Wranaa and Isabella Wranaa of Sweden REUTERS/Issei Kato
(REUTERS / Reuters)
Canada’s curling mixed doubles team of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant saw their Olympic dream come to an end.
The duo dropped their fifth straight match of the Olympics Sunday, falling 9-5 to the South Korean team of Seonyeong Kim and Yeongseok Jeong. This defeat came after they fell 7-6 to Sweden’s Isabella and Rasmus Wranå earlier in the day.
Only the top four teams in the mixed doubles curling event qualify for the playoff after a nine-game round robin. After their latest loss, Canada’s record of 3-5 is only good for a tie for sixth place.
The duo needed to win their remaining two matches and for Italy to lose their last two games to have a shot at the playoff. Unfortunately, they stumbled at the first opportunity to try and stay alive.
In a surprising happenstance, Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, speaking to the media before his team took on the Toronto Raptors, mentioned how he was watching Peterman and Gallant Sunday morning and was rooting for them.
Despite the loss, this isn’t the end of Canada’s chance at a curling medal. Brad Jacobs and the Canadian men’s curling team begin play on Feb. 11, while Rachel Homan and the women’s team get started on Feb. 12.
Canada miss medal opportunity in team figure skating event
Madeline Schizas of Canada performs during the women’s single free skating REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli
(REUTERS / Reuters)
Madeline Schizas took an unfortunate fall performing a jump and that may have been what ended Canada’s chance to medal in the team figure skating event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Schizas managed to recover well from the mishap, but she ended with the least points in the women’s free skate portion of the team competition. Canada dropped to fifth place with 47 points, a margin that her teammate, Stephen Gogolev, was unable to make up for when he performed is men’s free skate.
The United States took gold thanks to a score of 200.03 by Ilia Malinin in the men’s free skate. Japan captured a silver medal, while Italy won bronze. Canada finished fifth with 54 points, six behind Italy and 15 behind the U.S.
Earlier on Sunday, the pair of Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud skated well in the pairs free skate but were outclassed by the other duos that took the ice, summing up Team Canada’s day across the board.
With the team competition over, it’s time to move onto the individual disciplines, starting with ice dance on Monday with rhythm dance starting at 1:20 p.m. EST/10:20 p.m. PST. Three Canadian pairs will be competing: Marie-Jade Lauriault and her husband Romain Le Gac, Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, and the powerhouse duo of Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.
Sidney Crosby named captain of Canada’s men’s hockey team as Team Canada line combinations are teased
Sidney Crosby (87) (CAN) looks to pass the puck against Switzerland in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
‘Sid the Kid’ is captain once again.
Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby was named captain of the Canadian men’s hockey team Sunday.
Crosby is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, winning in 2010 in Vancouver and 2014 in Sochi. He also served as captain of the Canadian team in 2014.
The Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar were named as alternate captains.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, and it is an honour to be named captain of Canada’s men’s hockey team, which has so many great players and leaders,” Crosby said in a statement. “Connor and Cale, along with our entire group, provide incredible leadership, and I am happy to represent Canada together on the same team.
“We are all proud to wear the Maple Leaf and compete with Team Canada in Milan.”
Playing in his 21st NHL season, the 38-year-old Crosby is leading the Penguins in points (59), goals (27) and assists (32). McDavid leads all NHL skaters this season in points (96) and assists (62). Meanwhile, Makar ranks in the top five among all NHL defencemen in points (57), goals (15) and assists (42).
Crosby famously scored the “Golden Goal” to win the gold medal for Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Sunday was the first official practice for Team Canada. While at the rink, reporters got a taste of what some of the line combinations and defensive pairings that head coach John Cooper will be tinkering with, highlighted by San Jose Sharks sophomore sensation Macklin Celebrini on a line with McDavid — not Crosby as had been rumoured before — and Washington Capitals tough guy Tom Wilson.
By the looks of things, Cooper is looking to get a little sand paper on each line to complement the skill and speed that players like McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon bring. On defence, the pairs seem obvious, particularly the top pairing of Devon Toews and Makar, who already form one of the NHL’s top defensive pairings.
Team USA also named its men’s hockey captain Sunday, giving the nod to Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews. Boston Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy and Florida Panthers star winger Matthew Tkachuk were named alternate captains.
More Team Canada news on Day 2
Men’s parallel giant slalom snowboard: Canadian Arnaud Gaudet fell to Bulgaria’s Tervel Zamfirov by just three-hundredths of a second in the quarterfinals of the men’s snowboard parallel giant slalom event. He out-raced Zamfirov Bulgarian teammate Radoslav Yankov to reach the quarterfinals but was unable to advance further to contend for a medal.
Women’s parallel giant slalom snowboard: Canada’s Aurélie Moisan and Kaylie Buck failed to reach the quarterfinals of the women’s snowboard parallel giant slalom event. Moisan was defeated by Poland’s Aleksandra Krol-Walas, while Buck was bested by Tsubaki Miki of Japan.
Women’s downhill alpine skiing: Cassidy Gray finished 26th in the women’s downhill event for Canada, while Valérie Grenier was disqualified. American Breezy Johnson won gold, Germany’s Emma Aicher took silver and Sofia Goggia of Italy captured Bronze. The big story from the event, however, was American ski great Lindsay Vonn suffering a horrific crash.
Men’s 20 KM cross-country skiing skiathlon: Xavier McKeever led a four-man Canadian contingent in the men’s 20 KM skiathlon, finishing 13th. His teammates, Antoine Cyr, Max Hollmann and Rémi Drolet ended up coming in 27th, 29th and 42nd, respectively. A couple Norwegians landed on the podium, with Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget winning gold and bronze, while France’s Mathis Desloges took home silver.
Mixed 4×6 KM biathlon relay: The Canadian team of Adam Runnalls, Jasper Fleming, Pascale Paradis and Nadia Moser finished 17th in the 4×6 KM biathlon mixed relay. France won gold, Italy took silver and Germany earned bronze.
Men’s 5000 M speed skating: Ted-Jan Bloeman was unable to recapture the magic that saw him win a silver medal at the 2018 Peyongchang Olympics, finishing 13th. Sander Eitrem of Norway won gold in Olympic-record smashing fashion, winning the event in a time of 6:03.95. Czechia’s Metodej Jílek took silver and Italy’s Riccardo Lorello captured bronze.
Women’s snowboard big air: Both Laurie Blouin and Juliette Pelchat, the only two Canadians in the women’s snowboard big air competition failed to make it out of qualification, finishing 14th and 16th, respectively. They needed to finish within the top 12 to reach the final.