MILAN – From Canadian hockey captaincy to curling struggles, here are five things to know from Sunday, Feb. 8, at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games:
CAPTAIN SID
NHL veteran Sidney Crosby was named captain of the Canadian men’s hockey team at the Milan Cortina Games on Sunday. Crosby is one of only two players on the Canadian roster with previous Olympic experience, along with defenceman Drew Doughty. Crosby will be leading a roster that includes Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini. It’s the first time in 12 years that NHL players are back at the Olympics, with McDavid calling his first twirl at the Games a “surreal” experience.
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CURLING HEARTBREAK
Canada’s mixed doubles curling team suffered a fifth consecutive defeat Sunday, leaving them out of the top-four cut for the semifinals. Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman, a husband-and-wife team from Chestermere, Alta., came away with a 9-5 loss to South Korea’s Seonyeong Kim and Yeongseok Jeong. Earlier Sunday, Canada lost 7-6 to Sweden. The two losses put Gallant and Peterman at 3-5, and with just one more preliminary-round game remaining, the Canadians are out of reach for the semifinals.
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ICED OFF THE PODIUM
Canada missed the podium in the figure skating team event Sunday after placing fifth, but the contest still saw promising performances. Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud delivered a stellar pairs free skate, shattering their personal-best score but still placing fifth in the segment. Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., followed with a fifth-place finish in the women’s free program before Toronto’s Stephen Gogolev landed fourth in the men’s, for a total of 54 points. The United States captured gold with 69 to edge Japan by one point, followed by Italy at 60 points.
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SO CLOSE
Arnaud Gaudet’s time was the second-fastest of the men’s snowboard parallel grand slalom quarterfinals. Unfortunately, his head-to-head opponent was faster — by three-hundredths of a second. Bulgaria’s Tervel Zamfirov finished in 43.13 seconds to nip Gaudet at the finish line before eventually winning the small final to claim bronze. Gaudet, from Montcalm, Que., was looking to build on a silver medal at a World Cup event last month in Bulgaria.
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END OF AN ERA?
Lindsey Vonn’s pursuit of a second Olympic downhill gold medal ended in a crash. The 41-year-old American, skiing with a badly injured left knee, was taken off the course by helicopter after receiving medical attention. It might mean the end of a storied career for Vonn, who returned from a six-year absence to compete in Cortina.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 8, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
