Eric Bolte-Imagn ImagesWhen it comes to the New York Rangers and their link to the 2026 Winter Olympics, there’s a lot of attention on Team USA, given that Mike Sullivan will serve as the head coach, while both J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck will also represent their country on the world stage.
However, it’s also important to note that Mika Zibanejad will be playing for Team Sweden in what will be his first Olympic appearance.
Despite being a shoo-in to make the Swedish National Team, Zibanejad still felt overwhelmed with emotions when he was named to the Olympic roster.
“Obviously, it's a huge honor, especially now when everything is planned for us to go there and play,” Zibanejad said. “So yeah, the opportunity to play for your country and play and be part of an Olympics is something that's for a lot of athletes a dream, and to be able to do that is gonna be fun.”
After the 2018 World Championship, Zibanejad took a long hiatus from international hockey, partly due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Rangers’ success in the playoffs, which kept Zibanejad playing deep into the year.
Zibanejad returned to the international stage at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February and also participated in the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship, playing in front of his hometown fans in Stockholm, Sweden.
Through those two tournaments, Zibanejad grew more familiar with Head Coach Sam Hallam and some of his Swedish teammates, including William Nylander, Filip Forsberg, Rasmus Andersson, and many more prominent players.
“I'd say that the system and how we want to play, I think obviously being able to play two tournaments with that coach, with Sam, I think that helps too,” Zibanejad said on why playing at the 4 Nations Face-Off and World Championship benefits him going into the Olympics.
The 32-year-old forward has been having a productive season for the Rangers, recording 21 goals, 26 assists, and 47 points in 49 games while averaging 20:47 minutes.
This year marks the first time the Olympics have featured NHL players since the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Team USA and Canada stand at the top as the two overwhelming favorites as we head into this best-on-best tournament.
Zibanejad feels that Sweden has just as good a chance as any country to capture the gold medal.
“The two teams that you just mentioned (USA and Canada), they obviously have good teams, but I believe in our group, I believe in our team,” Zibanejad said. “You got to be good at the right time. It’ll be exciting.”