With the preliminary round of the 2026 Winter Olympic men’s hockey tournament now in the books, teams will now face elimination starting with the qualifier-round matchups on February 17. Of the seven members of the Vancouver Canucks at the Olympics, only Kevin Lankinen and Finland have managed to play themselves straight to the quarter-finals. This means that the following six Canucks will take part in the qualifier-round matchups to continue their quest for a medal. GERMANY VS. FRANCE The first matchup of February 17th’s elimination games features Germany and France, two teams that have a fairly limited NHL presence on them. While the lone active NHL player on France’s squad is Alexandre Texier of the Montréal Canadiens, Germany does have an interesting pool including Leon Draisaitl, Tim Stützle, Moritz Seider, and JJ Peterka. Canucks forward Lukas Reichel is also on Team Germany and scored his first Olympic goal in his team’s 4–3 loss to Latvia. CZECHIA VS. DENMARK Two Canucks will take part in this particular qualifying matchup, as Filip Hronek and David Kämpf have both been big pieces in Czechia’s lineup. Czechia’s tournament has likely not gone the way they thought it would, as they kicked off the 2026 Winter Olympics with a lopsided 5–0 loss to Team Canada. While they did take down France by a score of 6–3, this game was surprisingly close for parts of the game. In their final game, they lost to a Switzerland team that has impressed throughout the tournament by 4–3 in overtime. SWEDEN VS. LATVIA Sweden and Latvia’s matchup means that at least one member of the Canucks will be eliminated before the quarter-finals, as Elias Pettersson plays for Sweden and Teddy Blueger and Anri Ravinskis play for Latvia. Despite a 4–1 loss to Finland in their second game of the preliminary round, Sweden still managed to win two of their games. Latvia’s tournament has been shaky, as they dropped two and won one by a narrow score of 4–3. The winner of this matchup will take on a strong Team USA — one that already defeated Latvia by 5–1 in the preliminaries. Feb 15, 2026; Milan, Italy; Filip Hronek of Czech Republic against Switzerland in men's ice hockey group A play during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/13c51a1d-dd3d-46eb-b23e-b7de03334c96.jpeg] Feb 15, 2026; Milan, Italy; Filip Hronek of Czech Republic against Switzerland in men's ice hockey group A play during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images QUALIFIER AND QUARTER-FINAL ROUND SCHEDULE Germany vs. France: 3:10 am PT * Winner vs. Slovakia: February 18, 3:10 am PT Switzerland vs. Italy: 3:10 am PT * Winner vs. Finland: February 18, 9:10 am PT Czechia vs. Denmark: 7:40 am PT * Winner vs. Canada: February 18, 7:40 am PT Sweden vs. Latvia: 12:10 pm PT * Winner vs. USA: February 18, 12:10 pm PT Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwr-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks]. Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/]: Vancouver Canucks At The 2026 Winter Olympics: Preliminary Round Recap [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/players/vancouver-canucks-at-the-2026-winter-olympics-preliminary-round-recap] Czechia, Latvia, And Germany All Register Losses In Final Day Of Preliminary Round: Canucks At The 2026 Winter Olympics [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/game-day/czechia-latvia-and-germany-all-register-losses-in-final-day-of-preliminary-round-canucks-at-the-2026-winter-olympics] Swedish Olympic Coach Has High Praise For Canucks Center Elias Pettersson [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/players/swedish-olympic-coach-has-high-praise-for-canucks-center-elias-pettersson] For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription?_gl=1*c02rq*_ga*MTAxMDU4Njg2NC4xNzQ0MTI5OTI0*_ga_ZET34ZFCGX*czE3Njg0NjA5MTYkbzExNjIkZzEkdDE3Njg0NjEwMzkkajE2JGwwJGgw]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum. The Hockey News [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/46641e46-8333-4c98-9e62-d25976c58dac.jpeg] The Hockey News
