Denmark, Slovakia and Latvia have qualified for the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Milan Olympics, the return of NHL players to the biggest international stage in sports.
Each team won all three of its qualification round games on home ice to secure a spot. On Sunday, Denmark beat Norway 4-1; Slovakia defeated Kazakhstan 3-1 and Latvia cruised past France 5-2.
They join the United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Germany, Switzerland and host Italy in the field.
The biggest question remains whether Russia will be allowed by the International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation to compete given the country’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Russia’s absence would put Norway in as a fourth qualifier as the highest-ranked second-place finisher from the three tournaments that took place across Europe this week, with the groups reseeded.
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Denmark loaded up with NHL talent, getting permission from teams to have goaltender Frederik Andersen from Carolina and forwards Nikolaj Ehlers from Winnipeg and Lars Eller from Pittsburgh in the lineup. Anderson stopped 60 of the 64 shots he faced, while Ehlers and Eller each had four points, including an assist apiece in the win-and-get-in game against Norway.
Slovakia qualified and will get a chance to defend the bronze medal won in Beijing in 2022 despite being without three of its top players: Montreal’s Juraj Slafkovsky, Tampa Bay’s Erik Cernak and Washington’s Martin Fehervary. Calgary’s Martin Pospisil was among the leading scorers in the group with three points, and goaltender Samuel Hlavaj, who recently signed with Minnesota and is expected to begin with the Wild’s top minor league affiliate, made 65 saves on 70 shots.
Latvia got four points each from Florida defenseman Uvis Balinskis and forward Rodrigo Abols, who signed to play this upcoming season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League. A decade after nearly upsetting eventual gold medal-winning Canada in the quarterfinals at the 2014 Sochi Olympics with a 55-save performance, goalie Kristers Gudlevskis played all three games and stopped 53 of the 58 shots he faced.
© 2024 The Associated Press
