While the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina still feel a bit distant, the final spots for teams hoping realize their Olympic dreams will be determined this week in Europe. A number of current NHL players and notable NHL prospects, as well as a number of North American minor leaguers will be participating in this year’s event.

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There are three Olympic Qualification tournaments being played with 12 teams hoping they can secure one of three remaining spots in the tournament field.

Each team gets three games in group play and whichever team has the best record at the end punches their ticket to Milano Cortino 2026. The stakes are incredibly high, which is why you’ll see a number of NHLers request and get granted permission to represent their country in one final push to play in the Olympics.

Here is what you need to know about the tournament, how to watch the games, what players to keep a close eye on, as well as how to find some familiar faces you’ve seen on FloHockey previously.

Here is everything you need to know including which top NHL prospects will be competing.

What Is The Olympic Men’s Hockey Qualification Tournament?

The Olympic Men's Hockey Qualifiers is the final step in selecting the rest of the field for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina. The first nine spots are determined by IIHF World Rankings, while the remaining spots are subject to the results of the qualification tournament.

Each team will play three games within their respective groups, labeled D, E and F. A single team from each group will qualify for the Olympics based on the best record in a round-robin format.

There is one additional wrinkle this time around. Russia is currently not allowed to participate in IIHF competition due to the invasion of Ukraine. Should the ban on Russia’s participation continue into the 2025-26 season, that would include the Olympics. A fourth team from the qualification pool could be pulled into the 2026 Games if Russia's participation is not allowed.

Additionally, Belarus is banned from competition for the same reason. They would have been in Olympic qualification based on ranking, but remain barred and therefore will have no chance to qualify.

The teams that have automatically qualified for the 2026 Olympics include host Italy along with Canada, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Russia (if cleared), Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.

When Is The Olympic Men’s Hockey Qualification Event?

The Men’s Olympic Hockey Qualification Tournament for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games will take place from August 29 to Sept. 1. See full schedule below.

What Countries Are Participating In Olympic Men's Hockey Qualifiers?

The Olympic Qualification games will be played at three host sites. Group D will be played in Bratislava, Slovakia. Competition in Group E will be held in Riga, Latvia. Aalborg, Norway will host Group F.

Group D

• Austria
• Hungary
• Kazakhstan
• Slovakia

Group E

• France
• Latvia
• Slovenia
• Ukraine

Group F

• Denmark
• Great Britain
• Japan
• Norway

How Can I Watch The Olympic Men’s Hockey Qualifiers?

All games at the Olympic qualification events are scheduled to stream live on IIHF.com, though some games may not be available in all territories.

Group D: Bratislava 

Group E: Riga 

Group F: Aalborg 

Olympic Men's Hockey Qualifiers Schedule

All Times ET

Thursday, Aug. 29

• Kazakhstan vs. Hungary, 8 a.m.
• France vs. Ukraine, 9 a.m.
• Norway vs. Japan, 9:30 a.m.
• Slovakia vs. Austria, noon
• Latvia vs. Slovenia, 1 p.m.
• Denmark vs. Great Britain, 1:30 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 30

• Kazakhstan vs. Austria, 8 a.m.
• France vs. Slovenia, 9 a.m.
• Norway vs. Great Britain, 9:30 a.m.
• Hungary vs. Slovakia, noon
• Ukraine vs. Latvia, 1 p.m.
• Japan vs. Denmark, 1:30 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 1

• Slovenia vs. Ukraine, 6 a.m.
• Great Britain vs. Japan, 6:30 a.m.
• Austria vs. Hungary, 8 a.m.
• Latvia vs. France, 10 a.m.
• Denmark vs. Norway, 10:30 a.m.
• Slovakia vs. Kazakhstan, noon

What NHL Players Are Playing In Olympic Qualifiers?

Here is a list of all the current NHL players that will be participating in the Olympic qualification games this week.

Denmark

• Frederik Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes
• Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets
• Lars Eller, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Jonas Rondbjerg, Vegas Golden Knights

France

• Alexandre Texier, St. Louis Blues
• Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Free Agent

Latvia

• Uvis Balinskis, Florida Panthers
• Zemgus Girgensons, Tampa Bay Lightning

Norway

• Emil Lilleberg, Tampa Bay Lightning
• Mats Zuccarello, Minnesota Wild

Slovakia

• Simon Nemec, New Jersey Devils
• Milos Kelemen, Utah Hockey Club
• Martin Pospisil, Calgary Flames
• Pavol Regenda, Anaheim Ducks
• Tomas Tatar, New Jersey Devils

NHL Prospects To Watch In The Olympic Qualifiers

David Reinbacher, D, Austria (MTL)

Expected to spend his first full season in North America after playing much of last year in Switzerland, this is a big year for Reinbacher. There's a chance that he could make Montreal's roster out of camp, but there's probably a better chance he will be in the AHL at least to start. He showed some good signs with the Laval Rocket at the end of last season.

Playing in the Olympic qualifier will give the 2023 fifth-overall pick a chance to get right into this season. He should play a prominent role for Austria considering he has good World Junior and World Championship experience. Austria has a real shot to advance out of their group, but it likely requires them winning their opening game in the qualifiers against host Slovakia. I'd expect Reinbacher to see pretty good minutes in that one.

Marco Kasper, C, Austria (DET)

Kasper first saw action with the senior national team in his draft season. His performance and how he carried himself at that tournament went a long way to making him a top-10 pick by the Red Wings in 2022. He's back in the mix after missing each of the last two World Championships following his draft. Having two more years of experience including a full season in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2023-24, he's got a chance to play a more prominent role for this team.

The two-way center will be challenged right away as Austria opens the tournament against Slovakia. It should be a good test for a player that needs to take a step forward this year. I don't know how seriously he will contend for real playing time with the Red Wings this season, but expectations should be high that he gives the staff something to think about. Getting his season started in a high-pressure environment with Team Austria might let him hit the ground running when he reports to training camp in a few weeks.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, RW, Norway (DET)

The Red Wings' newest addition is coming off of a five-point effort at the most recent Men's World Championship. Brandsegg-Nygard played a middle-six role and was put in a lot of spots to help impact the game. The 18-year-old is mature beyond his years and has NHL strength already. The 15th overall pick in 2024, Brandsegg-Nygard is the highest-drafted Norwegian ever. So the pressure is on a bit for him to help deliver even if he's young.

Norway will be part of the most-anticipated game of the entire event when they close out their qualification round against Denmark. That game will feature a number of NHL players on the other side, which will make it interesting to see how Brandsegg-Nygard stacks up. He is slated to spend another year playing professionally in Sweden in 2024-25 before heading to North America.

Stian Solberg, D, Norway (ANA)

After his countryman Michael Brandsegg-Nygard became the first Norwegian to go in the first round at 15th overall, Solberg became the second just eight picks later. The physical defenseman went No. 23 to the Ducks in what was a very strong draft for Anaheim. 

Solberg's stock rose massively in the 2024 NHL Draft season, but it was his high-end performance at the Men's World Championship that locked him in to being a first-round pick. He played top-pairing minutes, showed an ability to move the puck, was able to play physically against NHLers and showed he had the mobility to keep up, too. I'd expect him to see significant minutes again, especially in the critical game against Denmark.

Other NHL-affiliated prospects on Olympic Qualifier rosters

• Emilio Pettersen, C/W, Norway (DAL)
• Noah Steen, LW, Norway (TBL)
• Dans Locmelis, C, Latvia (BOS)
• Samuel Hlavaj, G, Slovakia (MIN)
• Samuel Knazko, D, Slovakia (CBJ)
• Adam Sykora, C/W, Slovakia (NYR)
• Mads Sogaard, G, Denmark (OTT)
• Oscar Fisker Molgaard, C, Denmark (SEA)
• Vinzenz Rohrer, C/W, Austria (MTL)
• Pierrick Dube, RW, France (WSH)
• Antoine Keller, G, France (WSH)
• Artur Cholach, D, Ukraine (VGK)

ECHL Players Participating In Olympic Qualifiers

A number of players participating have played, currently play in or will play in the ECHL. Among those currently slated to be on ECHL rosters next season, two come from the Iowa Heartlanders.

Yuki Miura, who is under contract for his fourth season with Iowa, will be representing Japan. He hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father, Takayuki Miura, who represented Japan in the 1998 Olympics hosted in Nagano.

Meanwhile, Zeteny Hadobas is slated to join the Heartlanders this season for his rookie campaign in North America, but first will play for Hungary in the qualification event. Hungary’s roster also includes Zsombar Garat, who appeared in 63 games with the Worcester Railers last season.

A large number of former ECHLers will also dot the roster including Yushiroh Hirano, who had 189 points in 215 career ECHL games split among the Wheeling Nailers, Cincinnati Cyclones and Adirondack Thunder. 

Justin Addamo, who captained Wheeling last season, will be competing for France alongside Louis Boudon, who spent most of last season with Iowa.

Also in the event is Gustavs Grigals, who appeared in 34 games with the Atlanta Gladiators last season and made one of the best saves of the year. He is currently a free agent.

🤯🤯 HOW DID HE STOP THAT!?🤯🤯

There are glove saves and then there's this from @atlgladiators goalie Gustavs Grigals. He made 42 saves to shut out Allen, but none were better than this one! AMAZING!@ECHL @NanooksHockey @RiverHawkHockey @mkeadmirals pic.twitter.com/hAjBA6PHOz

— FloHockey (@FloHockey) October 29, 2023

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