Edmonton Oilers fans have finally gotten to see their big stars on the top international stage, as both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have made their Olympic debut. Day two of the Men's ice hockey has ended at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and there was plenty of action.
Oilers at the Olympics
McDavid and Team Canada beat Czechia 5-0 with the Oilers captain finally showing the world what he can do at the Olympics. He led the game in points with three assists. He helped open the scoring on a tip from Canada's young phenom and linemate, Macklin Celebrini.
Another Oilers star, Draisaitl made his Olympics debut with his home country of Germany, carrying a family tradition from his father. Leon himself opened the scoring and assisted on the final goal, winning 3-1 over Team Denmark.
In the other two matches; Switzerland beat France 4-0 and United States of America beat Latvia 5-1.
Coming up; McDavid and team Canada is set to play Switzerland on Friday with multiple former Oilers in action as well. Martin Marincin and Slovakia will play the host Italy, while David Tomasek and Yohann Auvitu are set to face off as Czechia plays France.
Russia and Belarus could be unbanned for 2028 World Cup
Speaking recently, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league would follow the lead of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) when it comes to potentially allowing Russia and Belarus to compete at the World Cup in 2028. Bettman said "We will follow what the international community is doing in terms of athletics,” adding "I don’t see any need for us to weigh in separately,".
This comes after Luc Tardif, the IIHF president made comments at a press conference ahead in Milan ahead of the start of the Men's ice hockey competition at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics where both Russian and Belarus are banned.
Tardif stated that he wants to see Russia and Belarus return to International competition soon saying “We want as soon as possible the Belarus and the Russians back,”. The two nations have been banned from International tournaments since 2022, following their invasion of Ukraine.
This has kept them out of competing at various competitions like; The World Championships, World Under-18s, and the World Junior Hockey Championships. As well, the NHL barred both nations from the inaugural 4 Nations Face-off last winter, instead allowing only Canada, USA, Finland, and Sweden.