MILAN -- The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 men’s hockey tournament begins Wednesday when the 12 nations compete in three groups. Group A consists of Canada, Czechia, France, Switzerland. Finland, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland will play in Group B. Group C features Denmark, Germany, Latvia and the United States.

Olympic fans came to Cortina with heavy winter coats and gloves. Their coats were unzipped Sunday and their gloves were pocketed.

The NHL players are back in the Winter Olympics for the first time since the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia, and Canada is once again entering the tournament as one of the top favorites to win Gold.

Of the 19 staff members polled, nine think Canada will bring home the gold medal. Six staffers think the United States can win its first gold medal in men's hockey since the 1980 "Miracle On Ice," while four believe Sweden can repeat its gold-medal performance from 2008 in Turin, Italy.

Team Canada arrived at Malpensa Airport on Sunday morning ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 men’s ice hockey tournament.

The United States and Canada are the favorites to reach the gold medal game in both men's and women's hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

There are five medal events today, including the slopestyle final in women’s skiing. Tonight, American figure skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates look to continue their dominant start in rhythm dance and the U.S. women’s hockey team faces Switzerland.

Since their debut at the Milano Cortina opening ceremony, Team Canada’s Olympic outfits have sparked mixed reactions from Canadians.

Canada has won nine Olympic gold medals in men’s ice hockey. Their first Olympic gold medal came in 1920 at the Antwerp Summer Olympics. The team dominated for three decades before the rise of the Soviet Union. Canada’s men’s Olympic hockey gold medals came in the following years:

As the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics begin, all eyes were on teams from around the globe proudly donning their countries' uniforms for the opening ceremony, including Team USA in outfits designed by Ralph Lauren.