Olympic ice hockey

From Antwerp to today

The first Olympic ice hockey tournament took place in 1920 as part of the Summer Games in Antwerp. Since the first Winter Games in Chamonix in 1924, ice hockey has been a fixture. Women have competed for medals since 1998 in Nagano. The tournament was long regarded as an unofficial world championship, because until 1968 it also counted as the World Championship.

The NHL question

Whether the best players in the world take part long depended on the NHL. From 1998 to 2014 the league paused its season so its players could compete at the Olympics. In 2018 and 2022 no NHL players took part. For the 2026 Games in Milan and Cortina, the NHL, the players' union, the IIHF and the IOC agreed on their return. The participation of NHL pros dramatically changes the level of the tournament.

Legendary moments

• Miracle on Ice 1980: In Lake Placid, a US team of college players beat the favoured Soviet Union. The game is considered one of the greatest upsets in sporting history.
• Nagano 1998: The Czech Republic won gold with goaltender Dominik Hašek, in the first tournament with NHL players.
• Pyeongchang 2018: Germany beat Canada in the semi-final and only lost the final to the Olympic Athletes from Russia in overtime.

Germany, Switzerland, Austria

Germany won bronze in 1932 and 1976 and silver in 2018. Switzerland took bronze in 1928 and 1948, and the Swiss women won bronze in 2014. Austria has taken part several times, without a medal in modern times.

Format

The Olympic tournament consists of a group stage and a knockout round with quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. Twelve teams play in the men's tournament; the IOC has recently expanded the women's field. Games are played under IIHF rules, often on an NHL-sized rink.

Significance

For many players, Olympic gold is the greatest title of all, even ahead of the Stanley Cup. For smaller ice hockey nations, qualifying is already a success. More on the annual tournaments under Ice Hockey World Championship.

Qualification

The top nations in the world ranking qualify directly, and the host country is seeded. Further places are awarded in qualification tournaments.

Recent Olympic champions

In Pyeongchang 2018, the Olympic Athletes from Russia won the men's tournament against Germany, while the USA beat Canada in a shootout in the women's event. In Beijing 2022, Finland won its first Olympic men's gold and the Canadian women won their tournament. Overall, Canada is the most successful Olympic ice hockey nation for both men and women.

Women at the Olympics

Every Olympic women's tournament since 1998 has been won by Canada or the USA. The USA won in Nagano in 1998, then Canada won four in a row from 2002 to 2014. Switzerland won bronze in 2014, a major success for European women's ice hockey.

Rink

At the Olympics, games are now mostly played on NHL-sized rinks, partly because many players come from the NHL.

Venues

Games are usually played in two arenas: a large one for the most important games and a smaller second arena.

The tournaments last around two weeks and are among the most-watched competitions of the Winter Games.