The 2026 Winter Olympics have arrived. THN.com's team of editors and writers voted on a slew of intriguing questions in advance of the Games. Who will gold? Who gets MVP honors?
As the 2026 Olympics are underway, expect some Grade-A hockey in the men's and women's tournaments over the next few weeks.
As for how it will all unfold, that's anyone's guess. But we're here to predict it.
A total of 24 editors and writers for TheHockeyNews.com filled out a poll of Olympic predictions.
We did have some consensus in certain areas, including which teams would win gold at both the men's and women's hockey events at the Games. And we also mostly agreed with each other on the men's dark-horse team.
But in other areas, such as the Olympic MVP prediction, there was no close consensus.
Let's break down the results.
Men's Hockey
Predicting The Podium
1. Who Will Win Gold? Canada (20), USA (4)
2. Who Will Win Silver? USA (14), Canada (4), Sweden (3), Czechia (2), Finland (1)
3. Who Will Win Bronze? Sweden (12), Czechia (4), USA (4), Finland (3), Switzerland (1)
In a bit of a surprise, the respondents were overwhelmingly in favor of picking Canada over the U.S.
It's true Canada's terrific depth and A-rate talent was going to make them at least a co-favorite to win it all, but Team USA was one of the best bets to at least get to the gold medal game, and the talent is very similar.
We like the Swedes for third place, as their goaltending and veteran group will make them competitive on a level that should concern the Canadian and American squads.
Predicting The Top Players
4. Who Will Win MVP? Connor McDavid (10), Nathan MacKinnon (5), Connor Hellebuyck (3), Sidney Crosby (3), Mitch Marner (1), Logan Thompson (1), Cale Makar (1)
5. Who Will Be The Leading Scorer? Connor McDavid (13), Nathan MacKinnon (9), Jack Eichel (1), Matthew Tkachuk (1)
In a tournament most respondents are picking Canada to win, it makes sense that the most votes for MVP and top scorer went to Canadians – especially Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon.
MacKinnon was the MVP of last season's 4 Nations Face-Off, scoring four times in four games. USA's Zach Werenski, who received no votes for top scorer in our poll, was the 4 Nations' top scorer with six points, all assists.
6. Who Will Be Named Top Goalie? Connor Hellebuyck (8), Filip Gustavsson (7), Logan Thompson (6), Lukas Dostal (2), Jake Oettinger (1)
Voting in this category was tight, with Hellebuyck narrowly beating out Minnesota Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson of Team Sweden for first place.
Hellebuyck will play with a very talented American group of forwards and defensemen. Although Gustavsson will also play behind some talented defensemen, the potential for gold is better with the American team, giving Hellebuyck the edge.
Only six voters predicted Canadian Logan Thompson would be the top goalie, which suggests that if Canada wins gold, their offense will lead the way.
Team Predictions
7. Which of the Big 4 (Canada, USA, Sweden and Finland) will be the biggest flop? Finland (14), Sweden (7), USA (3)
8. Which of the dark horse teams (non-Big 4) will go the furthest? Czechia (19), Germany (2), Switzerland (2), Denmark (1)
Finland got twice as many votes as the second-place Swedes for the biggest flop.
It's easy to see why most voters did not pick the two North American teams as the biggest flops – they're both almost too good not to thrive in this tourney.
Meanwhile, the almost-always feisty Czech squad was the overwhelming choice to be the dark-horse team that goes the furthest. Czechia have just enough high-end skill and underdog vibe to do some serious damage – and maybe, by the next Olympics, they won't be considered a dark horse anymore.
9. How many goals will Italy score in the tournament? Three goals (9), Five goals (6), Four goals (5), Two goals (2), One goal (1), Six goals (1)
The difference between the "haves" and "have-nots" at the Olympic level can be brutal, so the host Italian team isn't expected to have much success. They face Sweden, Slovakia and Finland in Group B action, so any goal they score should draw a ton of cheers.
Player vs. Player Predictions
10. Who will play more games: Jordan Binnington or Logan Thompson? Logan Thompson (15), Jordan Binnington (9)
Despite not being chosen for the 4 Nations Face-Off, Logan Thompson of the Washington Capitals is largely predicted to play more than Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues.
Because of Binnington backstopping the Canadians to the 4 Nations championship, it shouldn't be a surprise if he gets the first crack at the crease. But Logan Thompson has a .912 save percentage in 38 NHL games this season, while Binnington has an .864 SP in 32 games.
11. Will Auston Matthews or Nathan MacKinnon finish with more goals? Nathan MacKinnon (21), Auston Matthews (3)
There wasn't much difference of opinion in this category, with Toronto Maple Leafs captain and sniper Matthews not getting much love here.
But considering MacKinnon leads NHLers with 40 goals this season and three-time 'Rocket' Richard Trophy winner Matthews has just 26 goals, it's little shock that voters chose as they did.
12. Will Quinn Hughes or Cale Makar have more points? Cale Makar (18), Quinn Hughes (6)
Since the Minnesota Wild acquired Hughes in mid-December, he's put up 31 assists and 34 points in 26 games. Makar has 15 assists and 20 points in 24 games since that trade. Both players are tied with 57 points overall this season, but Hughes has played three fewer games.
Still, that didn't cause many of our voters to choose him over Avalanche superstar Makar, who will be playing alongside a supremely skilled group of Canadian players.
13. Which Tkachuk brother will finish with more points? Matthew Tkachuk (16), Brady Tkachuk (8)
14. Who finishes with more PIMs: Tom Wilson, Brad Marchand or one of the Tkachuks? Tom Wilson (12), Tkachuk brothers (11), Brad Marchand (1)
Both Tkachuk brothers posted three points in the 4 Nations Face-Off, so it could be that close a race for them again at the Olympics. Both brothers missed some time this season due to injuries, but they are fully ready to suit up for Team USA.
But Washington's Tom Wilson received more votes than the Tkachuk Bros. combined for most penalty minutes. Wilson has 78 PIMS in 49 games, while Brady Tkachuk and Brad Marchand each have 34 penalty minutes in 36 and 46 games, respectively.
15. Will David Pastrnak, Mikko Rantanen or William Nylander have more points? David Pastrnak (16), William Nylander (6), Mikko Rantanen (2)
Pastrnak is leading the Boston Bruins in points (71) this season, and while Maple Leafs star right winger Nylander and Dallas Stars right winger Mikko Rantanen are also having solid seasons, Czechia will rely more on Pastrnak than Sweden or Finland will rely on Nylander and Rantanen, respectively.
16. Will Macklin Celebrini or Matt Boldy have more points? Macklin Celebrini (13), Matt Boldy (11)
17. Which player will have his coming-out party? Macklin Celebrini (8), Matt Boldy (3), Lukas Dostal (2), Brock Faber (1), Alberts Smits (1), Juraj Slafkovsky (1), Kevin Fiala (1), Moritz Seider (1), JJ Moser (1), Dalibor Dvorsky (1), Logan Thompson (1), Kyle Connor (1), Jack Hughes (1), Lucas Raymond (1)
The Breakdown: Judged either against each other or against the wider field, San Jose Sharks dynamo Celebrini and Wild counterpart Boldy set a high competitive bar. But in the end, voters liked Celebrini, both to get more points than Boldy and to be the one player who has his coming-out party at the Games.
Celebrini's stunning sophomore season has him fourth in NHL scoring, with 81 points in 55 games. If he steps up and contributes meaningful minutes at the Olympics, few will be surprised.
Women's Hockey
18. Will Canada or USA win gold? USA (16), Canada (8)
19. Which team will win bronze? Finland (19), Czechia (4), Sweden (1)
Just as the Canadians were the overwhelming favorite of voters for the men's category, the American team is the overwhelming favorite to win gold in the women's category.
Team USA has won two of the last three women's World Championships, while Canada have won three of the last five. But in the Rivalry Series between the two teams this season, the Americans won all four games in blowouts for a combined score of 24-7.
The U.S. team is seen by many as younger and better-balanced than the Canadian roster looks right now. And the Finns were the clear choice for bronze; they rank third in the IIHF women's hockey rankings.
20. Who will be the MVP? Hilary Knight (11), Marie-Philip Poulin (5), Kendall Coyne-Schofield (3), Sarah Fillier (2), Taylor Heise (1), Aerin Frankel (1), Sarah Nurse (1)
Team USA captain Hilary Knight easily resonated with voters in this category. But in second place was Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin, who is no stranger to big moments in high-stakes games.
Knight is looking for her second Olympic gold, while Poulin is looking for her fourth.
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