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Hockey, one of the main events of the Winter Olympics that welcomes NHL players for the first time in more than a decade, will be played on ice shorter than the size required by NHL rules.
The men's and women's dual-arena games will be played on rinks that are 196.85 feet long and 85.3 feet wide. The NHL measures 200 by 85 feet, so the Olympic ice will be slightly wider and more than three feet shorter.
The International Ice Hockey Federation approved the Milanese rinks, which fit one of the governing body's standard sizes and were used by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators for two games in Stockholm in November.
The IIHF switched to NHL sizes for the Olympics starting in 2018 and was used again in 2022. The February 2026 games will mark the first time NHL players will compete in the Olympics since Sochi 2014.
On Monday, the IIHF confirmed without explanation that a different size was in effect in Milan.
“While these dimensions are slightly different from a typical NHL rink, they comply with IIHF rules, are the size of the rink used at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and are fully consistent with the dimensions that the NHL requires as part of its arena specifications for Global Series games,” the federation said.
“All parties involved, the IIHF, the organizing committee, the NHL, the NHLPA, the International Olympic Committee and the relevant authorities agree that the differences in rink performance are minor and should not affect the safety or quality of play.”
Olympic hockey was played on international ice measuring 196.85 by 98.4 feet in 1998, 2006 and 2014, with minor changes in Salt Lake City in 2002. In 2010, Vancouver played on ice the size of the NHL due to existing arenas.
“It's the same for every team, and I think that's the point,” Finnish men's hockey team general manager Jere Lehtinen told The Associated Press. “For our coaches, maybe this is more interesting and something they need to pay more attention to.”
The Canadian management team has spent months whittling down the long list of names vying to wear the maple leaf at Milan's Cortina in February.
Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong first mentioned on a podcast that ice sizes were slightly out of line with NHL rules in early September and then discussed the issue again in October. National federations have been aware of these specifications for a long time; Team Canada assistant coach Peter DeBoer recently addressed the topic on a radio show, raising questions about why this isn't NHL-sized ice.
In February, the ice size at both hockey arenas will be the same: on the main arena, which is still under construction, and on a smaller temporary site located inside the exhibition center.
Construction of the new Santagiulia hockey arena, a new 16,000-seat stadium on the outskirts of Milan, is well underway and organizers told the AP that there was no “Plan B.”
Test events had to be moved to the Rho Hockey Arena, and new test events at the main stadium are not scheduled until January 9-11, less than a month before the first puck is dropped. Workers were still finishing up the facility in Rho on Friday, just three days before the start of the IIHF World Under-20 Championship, which will be a test event.
“We know they're a little behind schedule, but we all assume it'll all be taken care of,” Canada men's assistant coach Bruce Cassidy said last week.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has repeatedly raised logistical issues. At the league's annual fall meeting of the board of governors in October, he said: “We are limited in what we can and cannot do, ask and demand, and if it gets to a certain point, we will have to live with it. But I’m not speculating, and the IOC and IIHF have constantly assured us that everything will be fine.”
The men's Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled for February 11-22. The women's tournament will take place from February 5 to 19.
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