In all, the Ducks sent five players to Milan for this year’s Winter Olympic Games, and two of them returned home with medals dangling from their necks.

Although center Leo Carlsson (thigh surgery) missed his first opportunity to compete for Sweden in the ultimate best-on-best tournament, the Ducks still had a team captain, an impactful physical presence, an emergent defender and two goalies with tremendous weight on their shoulders representing them across the pond.

Here is a look back at how Orange County’s five hockey Olympians fared.

Damian Clara, Goalie, Italy

Clara, a Ducks prospect who has played for four different clubs in two seasons, was resplendent for the hosts, who faced absurdly long odds as a non-traditional hockey power. He held them in a game against the Swedes until he departed due to injury, recovering to lose narrowly to Slovakia, 3-2, a side that eventually reached the bronze-medal game. After a lopsided loss to Finland, Clara performed well against Switzerland, which shut out its neighbors in the qualifying round. Clara finished third in saves despite playing just four matches, and turned in a .911 save percentage that was stellar under the circumstances.

Lukáš Dostál, Goalie, Czechia

Having already become a hero in Prague and beyond with his dominant showing en route to gold on home soil at the 2024 World Championships, a lot was riding on the 25-year-old as Czechia sought to medal for the first time in 20 years. He turned in an up-and-down tournament which saw the Czechs have the misfortune of facing favored Canada twice in five games, losing both tilts. Their second loss was a quarterfinal squeaker that dashed their medal hopes.

Mikael Granlund, Forward, Finland

With Florida Panthers pivot Aleksander Barkov sidelined by reconstructive knee surgery all season, Granlund ascended to the role of team captain. He reunited with his former teammates from the Dallas Stars, Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz, early on and notched three points in the tournament. The Finns blew out Italy, 11-0, and cruised past Slovakia, 6-1, in the bronze-medal game, during which Granlund sustained a minor injury after being checked by Czechia’s own No. 64, Patrik Koch. Granlund won bronze for the second time, having also done so alongside tournament MVP Teemu Selänne in 2014.

Radko Gudas, Defenseman, Czechia

Gudas, the Ducks’ captain, was also part of the 2024 triumph for the Czechs and reprised his role as a nasty, stalwart force on the blue line. While his overall play ranged from excellent to slightly erratic, he was at the center of the 13 seconds of the tournament that were perhaps the most impactful on its outcome. During a quarterfinal clash with Canada, Gudas hit Canadian captain Sidney Crosby once and then, 13 ticks later, combined with Martin Necas to check him again. Crosby, who scored the golden goal in 2010 and was central to a repeat in 2014, missed both Canada’s semifinal meeting with Finland, wherein they railed from a 2-0 deficit, and its 2-1 overtime loss to Team USA in the final.

Jackson LaCombe, Defenseman, U.S.

LaCombe became the first and only American defenseman to win gold at the Under-20 World Junior Championships (2021), the World Championships (2025) and the Olympics (2026). He joined teammates Clayton Keller and Tage Thompson, both forwards, as the only American players to do so. The only rub? After being chosen as a replacement for the injured Seth Jones, LaCombe never saw the ice in Milan, nevertheless earning a gold medal for being named to the American team.