The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 are only months away, and for the first time since 2014, NHL players will participate. Several New Jersey Devils have been named to preliminary rosters, including Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Jonas Siegenthaler, Simon Nemec, and Ondrej Palat.
The men's tournament will start with preliminary games Feb. 11, with the gold-medal game scheduled for Feb. 22.
Last season's 4 Nations Face-Off tournament created additional excitement for the upcoming Olympics. It was a massive success as teams representing Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States played each other in a round-robin format.
For Hischier, 26, this is his first opportunity to represent Switzerland in the Winter Games.
"I feel that as an athlete in general, this is something that you want to experience," he said to David Pagnotta and Dennis Bernstein of SiriusXM NHL Network Radio during the NHL/NHLPA European Player Media Tour. "For me, obviously, (the Olympics) are something I always dreamed of and something I have never been able to experience yet."
With many players set to make their first appearances, The Hockey News recently asked Devils' head coach Sheldon Keefe if the impending tournament will impact his players during the season.
"I don't know," he said. "I mean, it is going to be a first for me. Obviously, we had the 4-Nations last year, which is somewhat similar in some sense, except there are many more players who are going to be involved this go around.
"I think there are a couple of things," he continued. "I think you have guys who are going to be competing for spots for (their respective) countries, who are going to be wanting to get off to great starts and do well and be confident going into that evaluation, and ultimately be named to the team. Then you have others who have either already been named or it is somewhat inevitable that they will be named, and those guys are going to want to have their games in order and make sure that they are healthy."
The Devils will play over 50 of their 82 games before the Olympic break, and Hischier knows that while the Olympics may be on his mind, his focus needs to be on the team that drafted him first overall in 2017.
"I know there is work to do before (the Winter Games), and that it starts with going back to Jersey, having a great training camp, and having a good season start," he told SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. "My focus is working out and skating and preparing myself for the season start in Jersey, and when the time is right to focus on the Olympics, I will."
Once training camp kicks off on Sept. 17, the Devils will look to improve their mediocre 2024-25 season, where the club finished third in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 42-33-7 and 91 points. New Jersey was eliminated in five games in the first round of the playoffs at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes.
This season will be different with February's events in mind. It may be new territory for Keefe and his players, but the main objective of a deeper playoff run in New Jersey remains at the top of mind as they navigate these unknown waters.
"Everyone in the league (players, coaches, managers) is going to have to make sure that our players are primed and ready for (the Olympics)," Keefe said. "At the same time, we are making sure that we are focused on our primary goals with the New Jersey Devils and the NHL."
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