The women’s tournament is already underway, and the buzz in the Olympic village is the norovirus that appears to be making its way through the teams. Finland had to postpone the start of its games, as several of its players went into isolation to start the tournament. The Finns opened the games against the U.S. women on Feb. 7 and promptly lost 5-0, potentially feeling some of the after effects of the illness.
Then there’s the Swiss, who also had several of its players placed in isolation after a player was diagnosed with norovirus. So far, Canada and the U.S. women’s teams have stayed healthy, but with all the teams playing and practicing in the same areas, it’s a definite risk.
The U.S. women have opened the tournament with two wins. A 5-1 victory over Czechia to open the tournament and the aformentioned 5-0 win over Finland. The Canadian women are in the same pool as the U.S. women but have had the start of their tournament delayed. Canada was supposed to open against Finland, but had that game delayed because of the Finland’s illness. Game two was against Switzerland on Feb. 7. Canada won that game 4-0.
Canada and the U.S. will meet up in the preliminaries on Feb. 10 before the quarterfinals are set.
Team Canada arrives in Milano Cortina
The men’s hockey tournament doesn’t start for a few more days, but the men are arriving in Milano Cortina today. The CBC had these clips of the players arriving at the airport.
Macklin Celebrini, Sidney Crosby and most of the Nhlers making Team Canada arrived in Milan. Connor McDavid wasn’t there, so not clear if he already arrived. Team will have first practice tonight @CBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/Uy36xTKLxr
— Briar Stewart (@briarstewart) February 8, 2026
Notice that Macklin Celebrini is front and center. Celebrini is expected to play a big role for Canada at the Olympics, which makes sense considering that he’s one of the top scorers in the NHL at the moment. The 19-year-old is expected to play on the wing on the top line with Connor McDavid centering, according to NHL Media.
How are we feelin' about Canada's projected lineup for the #WinterOlympics? 🇨🇦
— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) February 7, 2026
Watch NHLers take the ice at the #MilanoCortina2026 #WinterOlympics beginning February 11 on @NBCSports, @peacock, @cbcsports, @cbcgem, & @Sportsnet!
Read more ➡️ https://t.co/dDKTnKAxeA pic.twitter.com/jFtKFdDU28
Of course, whether Celebrini stays on the top line depends on how he performs in the tournament, but as Sharks fans, we’re betting that he’s going to be okay.
Men’s hockey tournament starts on Feb. 11
Of course, Macklin isn’t the only Shark that’s in Milano Cortina playing for their home country. Philipp Kurashev will represent Switzerland, Pavol Regenda will represent Slovakia and Alex Wennberg will represent Sweden.
There are also several former Sharks in the tournament: Tomas Hertl (Czechia), Radim Simek (Czechia), Jan Rutta (Czechia), Alexander True (Denmark), Mikael Granlund (Finland), Nico Sturm (Germany), Leon Gawanke (Germany), Rudolfs Balcers (Latvia), Erik Karlsson (Sweden) and Timo Meier (Switzerland).
Regenda and Slovakia will open the first day of the tournament against Finland in Group B. Game time is 7:40 a.m. PT. The home country of Italy also starts out the tournament with a bout against Wennberg and Sweden. That game is at 12:10 p.m. PT.
On Feb. 12, the rest of the groups start tournament play. Kurashev and Switzerland start Group A play against France at 3:10 a.m. PT. A little early in the morning, so you might want to set your DVR. If you’re looking for Celebrini’s debut, that happens at 7:40 a.m. PT against Czechia. The United States starts Group C play at 12:10 p.m. PT against Latvia.
