The 2026 Winter Olympics are lower than two months away and the NHL says if the hockey rinks aren’t prepared in time or are unsafe, the league’s gamers are “not going” to the Video games.
On Tuesday, a match was performed on the secondary Rho Ice Hockey Area, one among two deliberate areas for hockey in February’s Milano Cortina Video games.
However the query stays if the principle Santagiulia Ice Hockey Area shall be prepared in time, regardless of officers saying the 16,000-seat facility shall be good to play on.
The issues surrounding the rink are usually not nearly if the construction shall be prepared, but in addition if the ice will even be playable.
“They haven’t made ice but,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman mentioned throughout a information convention on Wednesday in Winnipeg. “So we don’t know the way good the ice is but on the primary rink.”
February’s Olympics would be the first since 2014 that includes participation by NHL gamers.
The NHL says it has despatched its personal ice specialists to assist with preparations, however the league says till the floor is examined with skaters and the heat from many followers within the area, it is probably not clear if the standard shall be ok.
“If the ice isn’t prepared and it’s not secure, then we’re not going,” mentioned NHL deputy commissioner Invoice Daly. “I imply, I feel that’s self-evident.”
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The dimensions of the rinks are additionally a problem, with the NHL being caught off guard earlier this yr when it turned clear the scale of each shall be barely wider and three toes shorter than what the league and the Worldwide Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)agreed upon.
Daly instructed the Related Press that the league and NHL Gamers’ Affiliation have reminded the IIHF that they anticipate the ice floor to be normal NHL measurement on the 2030 Winter Video games in France.
Throughout Tuesday’s match, Japan captain Daigo Hotta mentioned the ice on the Rho rink firmed up by recreation time although had mentioned it was a “little delicate” throughout a pre-game skate. The size had been instantly noticeable, Hotta mentioned.
“I play again within the States. The rinks are fairly small, however I feel this one is without doubt one of the smallest rinks I’ve ever performed in,” Hotta mentioned. “The impartial zone’s smaller. The area between the dots and the boards. I feel all the things’s a bit smaller than regular.”
The match was a part of the Group B Below-20 world championship match being held this week.
Daly acknowledged the teams “did have a misunderstanding.”
The pinnacle of video games operations for Milano Cortina lately dismissed questions concerning the rink measurement, noting the ice surfaces are according to IIHF guidelines. The official additionally mentioned the ice has the identical dimensions because the rinks utilized in Beijing in 2022, and in Stockholm, Sweden, the place the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators performed twice final month as a part of the NHL’s International Collection.
“It’s clear that the scale of the rink are completely different, however should you come to play in Europe, all of the rinks have the sort of measurement,” Andrea Francisi mentioned Tuesday. “So one way or the other it’s important to adapt to this sort of dimension.”
The NHL says it’s attempting to place the issue prior to now, saying it gained’t make an excessive amount of of a distinction in play, however the large fear stays that no Olympic hockey venue has been this removed from completion so near puckdrop.
The primary hockey recreation of the Olympics is Feb. 5, when the ladies’s match will start.
—with recordsdata from International Information’ Mike Armstrong and The Related Press
© 2025 International Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
