In news that won’t come as much of a shock, there are reports that Russia is banned from the men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments at the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan, Italy.
While the IIHF and International Olympic Comittee haven’t yet made an announcement, the decision was reportedly made at the IIHF’s annual congress on Friday.
Russia and Belarus haven’t played in IIHF competitions since invading Ukraine in February 2022. They were already banned from IIHF competition for 2025-26, but the IOC gets the final say in Olympic competition. That said, in January, IIHF president Luc Tardif said they want Russia and Belarus back in competition as soon as possible, since “it will mean the war will be over.” Letting them return too early won’t be good, he added.
This latest development may signal that the final opportunity to see Russian stars Evgeni Malkin, 38, Alex Ovechkin, 39, and Sergei Bobrovsky, 36, in Olympic competition has already come and gone.
The same quite possibly goes for star forwards Vladimir Tarasenko and Artemi Panarin, both of whom are 33 years old. Meanwhile, fellow Russian star Nikita Kucherov is now 31 years old, and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is 30, so both players could be out of their prime by the time Russia is allowed to return to action at the Olympics and IIHF-sanctioned events.
The last time we saw NHL players in the Olympics was in Sochi, Russia, in 2014. Bobrovsky had a .952 save percentage and 1.15 goals-against average in three games. Malkin had three points in five games, while Ovechkin had two points. Tarasenko only had one point. But Kucherov wasn't yet the superstar talent he is today, and neither was Vasilevskiy, Panarin and Kirill Kaprizov. Having all these players on the same roster would have been quite a sight to see and quite a challenge for other hockey superpowers.
At some point, when the Russian-Ukrainian war is over, there will be renewed international opportunities for elite Russian players, perhaps at the 2028 World Cup of Hockey or at the 2030 Olympics.
Relative youngsters, including Kaprizov, Ivan Demidov and Matvei Michkov, could star for the Russian teams somewhere down the line. But it certainly feels like a Golden Age of Russian stars has passed, with a mix of superstar veterans, emerging elite players, remarkable goaltending and more. The hockey world has missed out on true best-on-best hockey by forces outside of the IIHF’s control.
You can see why Russian players would feel wronged by being put in this position, but you can’t blame the IIHF and IOC for taking this stance. The IIHF condemned the use of military force when it banned Russia and Belarus in 2022, and that hasn’t changed, so the federation’s actions shouldn’t change, either. This current situation will extend on for an unknown stretch of time.
Russian players have given hockey fans some great memories over the years, but they’re not going to get an opportunity to make more memories until such time as the IIHF and IOC are satisfied that geopolitical events allow for safety for participating countries. And while we can hope for an end to this situation and peace, there’s no telling when Russia will be back in international hockey competition.
Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.