Bo Horvat and Team Canada will face Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller, and Team USA for 2026 Winter Olympic gold on Sunday morning.
Since the last time that the Winter Olympics took place, the Vancouver Canucks have had two different captains — their 14th and 15th in franchise history. These two former captains are none-other than Bo Horvat of Team Canada and Quinn Hughes of Team USA. Both players, along with J.T. Miller of Team USA, were key pieces of a Vancouver core that gave many hope for the future for years on end.
Things haven’t gone as planned for the Canucks since then. But for those players, on a personal level, maybe they have.
Horvat will face his predecessor, Hughes, as well as Miller in a long-anticipated Canada vs. USA gold-medal matchup that will see some of the NHL’s best talent take to Olympic ice. Canada’s high-end talent in Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Macklin Celebrini will look to crack the top-goaltender in the tournament in Connor Hellebuyck in order to win gold.
Canada
The passing of the torch has seemed to be a big topic for Canada in this particular Olympics. Without Sidney Crosby in the lineup on Friday morning, it was fellow Cole Harbour superstar MacKinnon who scored Canada’s game-winning goal with 35 seconds remaining in a game that looked poised for overtime. No one knows whether this could be Crosby’s last Olympics or not, but with the Canadian legend turning 39 later this year, there’s a possibility that it could be.
In their narrow 3–2 win against Finland on Friday, a line that made a positive impression for Canada was that of Brad Marchand, Tom Wilson, and Sam Bennett. The physical, hard-hitting trio generated their fair share of offence against Finland, helping put together the chance on their team’s game-tying goal in the third period.
Horvat’s role with Canada has shifted throughout the tournament, though for the most part, he’s been relied on from a defensive standpoint on the penalty kill as well as in the faceoff dot. The forward currently sports a faceoff winning percentage of 57.78% in 45 draws after his team’s last five games. Expect this to continue during the gold-medal game.
Feb 12, 2026; Milan, Italy; Bo Horvat of Canada celebrates scoring their third goal with Drew Doughty of Canada against Czechia in a men's ice hockey group A match during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn ImagesUSA
The closest Team USA has come to a loss this tournament was in their 2–1 overtime win against Sweden during the quarter-finals. Even then, for parts of the game, they didn’t look to be slowing down at all. USA has faced brief slips in play during some games, but as a whole, they’ve consistently shown up to play. The U.S. has yet to trail during this tournament — something that could contribute to a confident style of play on Sunday, or a slip if facing adversity.
There may not be a player on Team USA with more pressure on his shoulders than Hellebuyck. With a tournament-leading 1.23 GAA and .947 SV%, the goaltender has been sharp throughout the Olympics and will absolutely look to reprise his efforts on Sunday. In saying that, despite another strong performance, Hellebuyck was on the losing side in last year’s 4 Nations Faceoff championship game. The goaltender’s struggles in higher-stakes games such as the Stanley Cup Playoffs are also well-documented, though at the end of the day, much of this will likely be forgotten if he backstops USA to a win.
On the Canucks side, Hughes will yet again be looked upon to take on a high-minute role. His presence in Team USA’s lineup is one that wasn’t accounted for in last year’s 4 Nations matchup, making him the big X-factor in Sunday’s gold-medal game. For Miller, who has played on a USA penalty kill that still has yet to surrender a power-play goal-against, maintaining that success against a tournament-leading Canada power play will be essential.
Canada and the USA will play for gold at 5:10 am PT on Sunday morning.
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