For the last couple months, concern has started to gradually rise regarding Ice Hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. Construction deadlines on the brand new Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, which needs to be ready by Feb. 5, have continually been missed. Early on Friday, a recent report from The Associated Press (AP) alarmingly explained that there is no backup plan.
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“There is no plan B,” Andrea Francisi, the chief games operations officer for Milan Cortina, said to AP.
It’s important to note that this is entirely out of the National Hockey League’s hands…it solely falls on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who have continued to promise the arena’s readiness despite the lackluster progress.
Nonetheless, after the rousing success of the 4 Nations Face-Off last February — plus the fact that this would be the first Olympics with NHL participation since Sochi in 2014 — it would be a disaster if the NHL didn’t feel confident enough in the quality of the ice/arena to send its players there.
Even if the IOC claims the venue is ready, the NHL could still (theoretically) opt to withdraw their participation, sending college and minor league players instead — just as they did for the 2022 Olympics when the coronavirus raised concerns about player health and safety.
“This just reminds me of back in grade school [when] I’d be like, ‘Hey mom, we have a project due tomorrow, but I’ve got no supplies,'” said American forward Brady Tkachuk on his ‘Wingmen’ podcast.
His brother Matthew added, “I’m nervous (…) Like, do they need me to hop on a flight over there [to] Italy, throw on the construction vest, and get hammering away? I’ll do it.”
Francisi also told AP that there is “no precise date” for the venue to be handed over to local organizers. However, he’s confident “for the moment” that it will be ready in time. Those are words that don’t exactly instill a ton of confidence.
The 4 Nations championship game, watched by 16.1 million people in North America, was the most watched non-National Football League game ever on ESPN+. Overall viewership was up 256% from the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.
All I see is hockey on every single social media platform. People who I know never normally watch are posting/sending highlights like crazy.
— Daniel Amoia (@daniel_amoia) February 16, 2025
What last night did to the sport was farrrrr more impactful than any recent Stanley Cup Final.
This is incredible.
Fans — even some who aren’t typically avid watchers of the sport — are now eagerly awaiting the return of best-on-best international hockey. While sports are unpredictable, there’s a fairly high chance of the Americans and Canadians both meeting once again on an elimination stage. That would do wonders for recapturing the attention of millions. It would also be a perfect segue to the World Cup of Hockey in 2028, and the subsequent Olympics in 2030.
If the NHL doesn’t have their players there, however, there’s just too much time between 2025 and 2028 for hockey to leave the conscience of those who aren’t already super interested in the sport. And it would be rather frustrating for the players who are starving for more best-on-best after 4 Nations.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on ’32 Thoughts’, a testing event, which already was supposed to have happened, is re-scheduled for early January. “[If that] doesn’t happen, everyone’s going to be in major freak out mode.”
