The 12-team men’s ice hockey tournament for the 2026 Winter Olympics is finalized with Slovakia, Denmark, and Latvia securing wins on Sunday.
Slovakia and Latvia will compete in Group C alongside the United States and Russia. Meanwhile, Denmark joins Group B with Finland, Germany, and Czechia. If Russia gets barred from the Olympics by the Olympic Committee, France might qualify as it was next in line based on standings. This would mean back-to-back Winter Olympics appearances for France since it’s hosting in 2030.
Slovakia boasts NHL stars like Simon Nemec, Tomas Tatar, and Martin Pospisil. They have a real chance of making it to the playoffs if Russia is out. After all, they won a bronze medal in 2022 by beating Sweden .
Denmark’s team includes experienced players such as Nikolaj Ehlers from Winnipeg Jets and Frederik Andersen from Carolina Hurricanes. Although Denmark only debuted at the Olympics two years ago in Beijing, they surprised everyone by defeating Latvia before narrowly losing to “Olympic Athletes from Russia.”
Team Latvia:
Latvia has participated in five Olympic tournaments since 1991 but hasn’t made significant progress against bigger teams. Their standout NHL player is Uvis Balinskis of the Florida Panthers who scored one goal and four points during qualifiers. Despite being in a weaker division this time around, expectations remain low for their performance.
Fans might think this setup makes for an exciting tournament with many unpredictable outcomes.
In conclusion, these teams are gearing up for what promises to be an interesting competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics. What do you think about their chances?
