The 2026 Olympic hockey bracket is shaping up to be must-watch drama, with the world’s top men’s players and nations battling for gold on the sport’s biggest international stage.
From powerhouse contenders that are the favorites in the Olympic hockey odds, like Canada and the United States, to dangerous sleeper picks like Sweden and Finland, every game will matter.
As the tournament unfolds, the 2026 Olympic hockey bracket will reveal the clearest path to Olympic glory.
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The 12 Olympic hockey teams are split into three groups of four teams each. They will be a round robin preliminary stage to determine seeding in the Olympic hockey bracket.
There will be four teams that get a bye into the quarterfinals, the three group winners and the best second-placed team.
Place the three group winners in spots 1D, 2D and 3D, based on which teams will get more points in the preliminary round. Remember, teams get three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime or shootout win, one for an overtime or shootout loss and zero for a regulation loss.
If you think the group winners will be tied on points at the end of the preliminary stage, the other tiebreakers in order are goal difference, goals scored and better IIHF World Ranking.
After you place the three group winners in sports 1D, 2D and 3D, place the best second-placed team in position 4D.
After picking the four teams that will advance directly to the quarterfinals, you need to fill out the rest of the 12-team Olympic hockey bracket that will play in the playoff round.
Place the remaining eight teams in order from 5D to 12D based on the following criteria in this order: higher position in the group, higher number of points, better goal difference, higher number of goals scored and IIHF World Ranking.
After you place the remaining eight teams, your 2026 Olympic hockey bracket should be good to go for the knockout stages.
Then, follow typical bracket protocol and pick your winners of each playoff game. Follow that by picking the winner of each quarterfinal game.
Don’t get too carried away because the teams will be re-seeded following the quarterfinal round.
The four teams remaining in the Olympic men’s hockey bracket will be re-seeded prior to the semifinal round.
The highest seed from the preliminary round will play the lowest seed. The second-highest seed will play the second-lowest seed.
After you properly set the semifinal matchups, pick the winners of each semifinal game!
The winners of the semifinals will play in the gold medal game. The losers of the semifinal game will still have a chance to reach the podium as they will match up in the bronze medal game.
The winner of the gold medal game will be crowned the winners of the Olympic hockey bracket and the Olympic gold medalists. The losing team will win the silver medal.
The winner of the bronze medal game will take home the bronze medal while the loser will come home empty handed.
| Group A | Group B | Group C |
|---|---|---|
 Canada – 9 pts |
 Slovakia – 6 pts |
 United States – 9 pts |
 Switzerland – 5 pts |
 Finland – 6 pts |
 Germany – 3 pts |
 Czechia – 4 pts |
 Sweden – 6 pts |
 Denmark – 3 pts |
 France – 0 pts |
 Italy – 0 pts |
 Latvia – 3 pts |
The Olympic hockey bracket will begin on February 11 with the preliminary round. This round will wrap up on February 15. Each team will play three preliminary round games and that will determine the seeding for the knockout round.
With the Olympic hockey bracket now set for the semifinals, which teams have the best path to the gold medal?
Canada and USA are the favorites to make the gold medal game. Canada will play Finland in the semifinals. USA will play Slovakia in the other semifinal.
Will Slovakia or Finland pull off a big upset? It’s not out of the question. Slovakia has been the surprise team of the tournament so far. They own dominant wins over Finland and Germany.
Finland was very competitive against Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off last year. The Fins are loaded with NHL talent that know what it’s like to face the Canadian players.
Still, Canada and USA are the favorites and will likely square off in the gold medal final.
| Edition | 🥇 Gold medal | 🥈 Silver medal | 🥉 Bronze medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beijing 2022 | Finland |
Russian Olympic Committee | Slovakia |
| PyeongChang 2018 | Olympic Athletes from Russia | Germany |
Canada |
| Sochi 2014 | Canada |
Sweden |
Finland |
| Vancouver 2010 | Canada |
United States |
Finland |
| Torino 2006 | Sweden |
Finland |
Czechia |
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