The 2026 Milan Olympics are now officially over. Congratulations to Team USA and Brock Nelson, who took home the gold medal in overtime against Team Canada. The Colorado Avalanche players were truly impactful throughout the entire Olympic tournament. While many players were obviously unhappy with how their tournament ended, several took home a medal for their country.

The Avalanche sent eight players to the tournament. Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Devon Toews (Canada), Brock Nelson (USA), Martin Necas (Czechia), Gabriel Landeskog (Sweden), Arturri Lehkonen, and Joel Kiviranta (Finland). In reverse medal order, we will look at how each player's tournament ended and their final stats.

It was a heartbreak for Canada, and no one else but the Canadian Avalanche players could tell you otherwise. MacKinnon, the main reason they even competed for the gold medal, with the less than 30-second game-winner in the semi-finals against Finland, had the chance to do the very same in the finals but missed the net on a one-timer. Finishing with four goals and three assists for seven points in six games played, there is no one else who is probably more furious with how the game ended and the outcome he could have had on it.

Makar had a tale of two sides in the gold medal game. It starts with him and Toews getting cooked by Matt Boldy in the first period to open the scoring, but he comes around to tie the game late in the second period and helps force overtime.

He tried his best in the overtime situation, which was practically a three-on-1 by trying to tie up Zack Werenski, but he made a great play and set up Jack Hughes for the winner. He finished with two goals and four assists for six points in six games and had to do some heavy lifting both offensively and defensively with Josh Morrisey out.

Toews’ arguably worst game came at the wrong time, the gold medal game. He made plenty of questionable decisions in that game that almost cost Canada another goal. Outside of MacKinnon missing the net, Toews getting robbed by Hellebuyck will probably also haunt him forever. With one goal and two assists for three points, he didn’t need to do much with the group around him, and those points contributed came at critical times.

Nelson’s play at the tournament really silenced a lot of doubters when he was initially selected to make the team. Though his production declined heading into the playoffs, his impact on the ice, both offensively and defensively, showed he's still an impact player. The dangers of his shot, face-off skill, and net front presence at times worked well as a bottom-six option. With two goals and one assist for three points, the now Gold medalist showed he is ready to continue with the Avalanche.

Just like with the Avalanche, Lehkonen’s time with Finland saw him do a little bit of everything. Helping Finland to the 6-1 win, he recorded a primary assist on the opening goal and finished the tournament with two goals and four assists for six points. He helped a Finnish team that seems to secure a medal at every Olympic event; they've done so against some of the best teams in the best two decades, and, funny enough, 2002 was the last Olympic event they didn’t secure a medal.

Kiviranta didn't play many games, appearing in only four of Finland's six games, including the bronze medal game. Every time he played, he was impactful in his bottom-six role, scoring two goals.

For Landeskog and Team Sweden, this was not the outcome that I, they, and many expected coming into the tournament. I myself had them losing to Canada in the finals before the tournament started, and how they played in the group round, given the amount of talent on that team, was really a disappointment.

Surprised might be the right word for just how well Landeskog played in this tournament. For someone whose last professional game was in December 2025, he looked amazing on the ice and played only the role of captain he was given. Finishing with two goals and two assists for four points in five games, im excited to see Landeskog finish off a strong second half of the season.

Among all Avalanche players, Necas really shone at this tournament. Despite not taking home a medal, he did his best to help Czechia and impressed many with his performance throughout the tournament. With many eyes on David Pastrnak, it opened Necas up a lot, and he capitalized on it for sure, finishing with three goals and five assists for eight points. He was the primary driver of Czechia’s offense and made sure to capitalize on every opportunity the defense gave him.

It was once again great to see NHL players in the Olympics and to see the world what best-on-best hockey looks like, and the Avalanche were a staple of that. Six of the eight Avalanche players brought home a medal, tying for the second most among teams sending players, behind only the Florida Panthers, which brought home seven.