NHL cautiously optimistic of Olympic participation despite smaller rink size and ice safety concerns

The NHL said Tuesday it remains cautiously optimistic about sending the world's best hockey players to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in February amid issues with a smaller-than-expected rink size and questions regarding ice quality due to construction delays.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly reiterated that belief in an email to The Associated Press a day after briefing the NHL’s board of governors on the Olympics during their meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

“We’re making progress and moving towards the goal, but there doesn’t seem to be anything insurmountable in getting to completion,” Daly told reporters on Monday.

Daly said there’s nothing the NHL or organizers can do about the dimensions of the not-yet-completed 16,000-seat Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena and secondary Rho facility. “It's a structural issue. It would be impossible to correct,” he said.

What can still be addressed is ensuring the ice quality is safe for players, with Daly saying Olympic officials are taking up the NHL’s offer to use their experts to assist once the ice surface is scheduled to be laid in the coming weeks.

“We’re basically moving everybody there to try to help get this done in a way that’s acceptable for NHL athletes,” he said. “I’m cautiously optimistic that’s all going to be fruitful.”

At this point, with the Games less than two months away, Daly said the only issue that would prevent the NHL from returning to Olympic participation for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Games would be safety concerns due to the ice surface.

“Obviously, if the players feel like the ice is unsafe, we’re not going to play. It’s as simple as that,” Daly said. “So whatever flows from that, flows from that. I’m not really all that concerned about it.”

Daly said the completion date of the main rink is set for Feb. 2, three days before the women’s tournament opens and nine days before the men begin play.

The NHL was caught off guard when it became apparent the two rinks’ dimensions will be slightly wider and 3 feet shorter than what the league and International Ice Hockey Federation agreed upon. Daly said the league and NHL Players’ Association have reminded the IIHF that they expect the ice surface to be standard NHL size at the 2030 Winter Games in France.

The ice is already in at Rho, which is playing host to the Group B Under-20 world championship tournament this week. Japan captain Daigo Hotta referred to the ice as feeling “a little soft” during a pre-game skate, but firmed up by game time.

The 19-year-old Hotta, who has played in the U.S. since his family relocated when he was 5, almost immediately noticed the difference in rink dimensions.

“I play back in the States. The rinks are pretty small, but I think this one is one of the smallest rinks I’ve ever played in,” he said Tuesday. “The neutral zone’s smaller. The space between the dots and the boards. I think everything’s a little smaller than normal.”

The head of games operations for Milan Cortina dismissed questions about the rink size by noting the ice surfaces are consistent with IIHF rules, and have the same dimensions as the ones used in Beijing in 2022, and the one in Stockholm, Sweden, on which the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators played twice last month as part of the NHL’s Global Series.

“It is clear that the dimensions of the rink are different, but if you come to play in Europe, all the rinks have this type of size,” Andrea Francisi said Tuesday. “So somehow you have to adapt to this kind of dimension.”

Francisi agreed that a more important issue is the quality of ice “for the spectacular nature of the competition, but also above all for the safety of the athletes.” He expects the ice sheet to begin being laid on Dec. 20, and have it ready within 11 days.

AP Sports Writer Danila Matar in Milan contributed to this report from Milan.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics

A view of the Ice Hockey Arena during the U20 Ice Hockey World Championship between Poland and Italy as a test event for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

An outside view of the Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena, in Milan, where Ice Hockey discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place Italy, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

A worker sits at the referees desk of the Ice Skating Arena where some Ice Hockey matches of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Italy, Friday, Dec.5, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A view of the Ice Hockey Arena during the U20 Ice Hockey World Championship between Estonia and Japan as a test event for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

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