MILAN — When American short-track speedskater Corinne Stoddard slipped at full tilt, crashed into Korean Kim Gilli yet miraculously missed Canadian Courtney Sarault, the whole scene got Brad Marchand thinking.
The first-time Olympian thought it “awesome” to be inside the Forum di Milano in Milan, shoulder to shoulder with his Team Canada buddies, to see Sarault and her teammates spin near-disaster into a podium finish Tuesday.
Marchand, 37, speaks excitedly before his own debut on Milano ice about the intensity and speed of the competitors he watched, but also of risk and luck, of misfortune and margins as narrow as a blade.
“You know, on the flip side, you feel bad for the amount of work every athlete puts in, and sometimes things are out of your control. You can tell the ice was a little bit chippy there yesterday. Somebody can slide out and take you out, and your Olympic dreams are done,” Marchand says.
The man has graduated seamlessly from ruthless face-licker to thoughtful empath.
“You just see the highs and lows in one race. All sides of it. So, I think for us, as athletes, we were kind of examining all of it. And it was a big topic of conversation, just the amount of effort that goes into getting yourself to this point, and the things that are out of your control that help you win or lose,” he continues.
“I mean, that’s what it’s all about.”
Something wild or controversial or out of the ordinary is about to happen in the men’s ice hockey tournament, the first true Olympic best-on-best in a dozen years.
And first ever for pretty much all the male hockey players not named Doughty or Crosby.
“I think there’s some days that it feels like 12, and other days it feels like yesterday,” says Crosby, author of postage-stamp moments and captain unparalleled.
“It’s so great, though. There’s been a lot of anticipation ever since we found out we were going back to the Olympics, the naming of the team and… yeah, a lot of anticipation. So, it’s just great to be with the guys and get out there and get to work and see the speed and start to try to get better here and become a team.”
Save a few fresh faces (we see you, top-line Macklin Celebrini), they’re already a team. A winning team that bonded fast and fierce at 2025’s 4 Nations Face-Off and, thus, decided to reunite the band — management, coaching staff, the entire D corps, the starting goalie, and most forwards — for an Italian job.
Led by chaperone Crosby, Team Canada skipped practice Tuesday. They went shopping and toured the Duomo and rode the Metro and celebrated short-track silver, all en masse.
The lads roll deep.
“You can see guys migrate together,” head coach Jon Cooper says. “They’re just a group. A group goes everywhere together. And to think they wanted to go to a sporting event so bad, (Crosby) had to find the one they could have a little bit of time to fit in. And all 25 guys went.
“Obviously, the on-ice is a big part of it. But the fact that most of this team has been together for kind of a year, it’s really helpful.”
Ironic, isn’t it?
The Canadians — and their archrival Americans, for that matter — are leaning heavily into the power of familiarity to win a tournament peppered with the element of surprise.
A dressing room unattached to the main arena. Occasional roommates. Uneven puck-drop times. A foreign language. A 13th forward and seventh defenceman. A shortened neutral zone and shallow corners. Mandatory neck guards. A disproportionate Jumbotron. No fighting. Practices that end when the Zamboni, not the coach, says they do.
Ignore all the quirks and inconveniences, and you’re left only with gratitude for an opportunity overdue.
“Surreal. Surreal,” Connor McDavid repeats. “It’s been a long time coming. Excited to be here, represent my country, and be a part of a great group of guys.”
The game plan of those guys?
Well, we know they can fill the net, and we will wonder about the men in pads.
But what’s the identity of the best Canada can offer in 2026, Coach Cooper?
“You know, I always think the Canadian way is the winning way, and that’s how it works,” Cooper says.
“But this group of players, they will wear their hearts on their sleeves. Like, this team will push. And you want to have a team that can beat in many different ways. Do we have the skill? We do. Do we have the speed? I believe we do. Do we have the goaltending? I believe we have that as well. If push comes to shove, can we push back? I really think we can do that.
“So, for us to be an intimidating team, both physically and skill-wise, that’ll be an identity.”
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Keep up with Olympic men’s hockey
The men’s hockey tournament at Milano Cortina 2026 runs from Feb. 11-22. Follow along with all the scores and standings.
Off the ice, however, we’re seeing flickers of a deeper identity. And it’s one the country will be happy to root for. There are layers to these men who hold a nation’s hopes in their sweaty gloves.
The at-all-costs McDavid, who can’t even enjoy a bottle of beer at his own bachelor party without thinking of the one that got away.
The no-nonsense Nathan MacKinnon, who lifts heavy weights before playing a 60-minute hockey game and prefers his pasta chickpea and yet can still be convinced to do The Wave at short track.
And the reformed villains like Sam Bennett and Tom Wilson and Marchand, about to give their Canadian haters no choice but to root for them.
“I think I’m annoying guys, how many pictures I’m taking and making them take, just trying to take in every moment and enjoy it all,” Marchand confides of his long-deferred European vacation.
“It’s something I’ve been very vocal about for a long time, wanting to do this and be part of this, you know? And I feel like the players have earned the right and the opportunity to be here. So, it’s great that guys are back.
“The last few years, and especially how last year played out, I have such a newfound sense of gratitude for every day in the National Hockey League and for moments like this.
“So, I don’t think I’m gonna be too serious throughout the tournament, other than during the games. Just trying to have as much fun with the guys and enjoy it as much as possible.”
Team Canada’s practice lines Wednesday:
Celebrini – McDavid – Wilson
Hagel – MacKinnon – Reinhart
Stone – Crosby – Marner
Marchand – Horvat – Suzuki
Jarvis – Bennett
Toews – Makar
Morrissey – Parayko
Harley – Doughty
Theodore – Sanheim
Binnington
Thompson
Kuemper
