The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina will showcase over 100 NHL players in the men's hockey tournament, but stars from Austria, Belarus, Norway, Russia, and Slovenia will sit out due to bans or qualification failures. Only 12 nations can compete, leaving talented players unable to represent their countries. This exclusion highlights the competitive and geopolitical challenges in international hockey.
The 2026 Winter Olympics men's hockey tournament in Milano Cortina, Italy, promises high-level competition with NHL participation returning after an absence. However, several countries with notable NHL talent will not field teams, sidelining prominent players.
Austria failed to qualify, meaning centers Marco Rossi of the Vancouver Canucks and Marco Kasper of the Detroit Red Wings cannot compete. Rossi, 24, recently joined Vancouver via trade and has played eight games despite an injury. Kasper, 21, has six goals and 13 points in 57 games for Detroit this season. Prospect David Reinbacher of the Montreal Canadiens has yet to debut in the NHL.
Belarus and Russia are banned by the International Olympic Committee. Belarus could have counted on Calgary Flames center Yegor Sharangovich (112 goals, 217 points career), Washington Capitals center Aliaksei Protas (30 goals last season), and Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Artyom Levshunov (27 points in 70 games). Russia boasts elite forwards like Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Kirill Kaprizov, plus goaltenders Ilya Sorokin, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Igor Shesterkin, and Sergei Bobrovsky—potentially forming one of the strongest rosters on paper.
Norway also did not qualify, excluding Minnesota Wild winger Mats Zuccarello (226 goals, 723 points in 942 games), Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg, and Detroit Red Wings winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. Zuccarello last played for Norway in Olympic qualifiers, scoring five points in three games.
Slovenia rounds out the list, with Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar missing the event. The 38-year-old two-way center has two Selke Trophies, two Stanley Cups, and recently hit 1,300 career points, nearing 1,500 games.
These absences underscore the limited field of 12 teams and ongoing IOC sanctions, depriving fans of seeing these stars in Olympic action.
