NHL players arrive in Milan, returning to the Winter Olympics after a 12-year absence

MILAN (AP) — Lukas Dostal was in a rush to get to the Olympics. Earlier this week, the Czech goaltender became the first NHL player to take the ice for practice with his national team.

“What would I do in Anaheim, shoot the puck to the boards and try to stop it myself? It probably wouldn’t really work," Dostal said.

He is no longer alone, as the rest of the players from the best hockey league in the world arrived in Milan on Sunday. Fresh off flying from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, the top contenders from the U.S. and Canada to Sweden, Finland and Czechia all took the ice for their first practices at the Olympics.

"It’s crazy to think about now we’re here," said Auston Matthews, who was named U.S. captain after practice. “It definitely hits you once you touch down and get to the Olympic village and get settled in, just how special and cool it is to be here.”

Dostal and about a dozen others arranged transportation to get to Italy a couple of days earlier, including Canada's Connor McDavid, Germany's Leon Draisaitl, Czechia's David Pastrnak and a quartet of Americans.

Charlie McAvoy, Zach Werenski, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman marched in the opening ceremony with the rest of the U.S. delegation at San Siro stadium, as did Switzerland's Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler. Swayman called taking part “an out of body experience.”

Draisaitl and Pastrnak were among the seven men's hockey players who served as their nation's flag bearer.

“As a little boy, your biggest dream is playing in the Olympic Games,” said Switzerland's Nino Niederreiter, who was his country's flag bearer. "Being able to go out there and carry the flag was definitely something you’ll never forget and cherish forever.”

Almost all the players and coaches experiencing the newly built arena gave it rave reviews, though the joy of finally getting to the Olympics almost certainly contributed to that rosy first impression.

“Great, honestly," Sweden forward Mika Zibanejad said. “I don’t have anything negative to say. I’ve been just so stoked to be able to be part of Olympics.”

There's a reason for that. This is the first Olympics with NHL players in a dozen years, dating to Sochi in 2014, after the league opted not to participate in 2018 and pandemic-related scheduling issues caused an eleventh-hour change of plans in 2022.

That gap means an entire generation of stars, including McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel, have never represented their country on this international stage. This is the first so-called best-on-best tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, but even that had a couple of made-up teams — North Americans 23-and-under and then Europeans from various countries not included — to keep McDavid and MacKinnon from playing with two-time gold medalists Sidney Crosby, Drew Doughty and others.

The talk about doing so became reality skating on Sunday.

“Landing today and kind of going through the whole experience, getting checked into the village, it definitely feels real now," Eichel said. "I think we're all really excited to be here."

Following weeks, if not months, of concerns about the quality of the ice, it was clear the surface wasn't perfect. But it'll more than do given the circumstances.

“The ice was a little bit beat up when we were practicing today, but there have been a lot of teams on it,” U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said. "At the end of the day, both teams got to play on the same surface, so we’re thrilled to be here and we love every minute of it.”

Canada was the final team to practice, going on just after 7 p.m. local time, and the thrill had not worn off for anyone yet.

"Playing with Connor McDavid is a thrill, walking into the athletes’ village is a thrill, meeting other athletes and hanging out is a thrill, putting on this jersey is a thrill," said winger Tom Wilson, who skated on the top line with McDavid and 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini. “This whole experience is a thrill.”

Games begin Wednesday, and the U.S. and Canada open the tournament Thursday, so teams have a little bit of time to coalesce on and off the ice. But first, all the travel means the need for some rest.

“It feels like it’s been a long day," U.S. forward Jack Hughes said. "Really exciting to finally get over here and just be a part of it.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Sweden's Erik Karlsson during men's ice hockey practice at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Members of the United States men's ice hockey team including Brady Tkachuk, third from right, Auston Matthews, second from right, and United States' Jack Hughes, right, gather around the net during men's ice hockey practice at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Switzerland's Roman Josi arrives for men's ice hockey practice at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The United States men's ice hockey team gathers on the ice during practice at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two people were killed after a Russian drone attacked a minibus in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials said Saturday, in the latest barrage of civilian areas, a hallmark of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Seven people were also wounded in the attack, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said. Hours later Russia attacked another minibus in Kherson, wounding the driver, he said.

Meanwhile, along the northern border with Belarus, Ukraine recorded “rather unusual” activity on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram on Saturday. Without elaborating, he said activity was seen on the Belarusian side of the border and that Ukraine would act if matters escalated.

“We are closely documenting and keeping the situation under control. If necessary, we will react,” he said.

Belarus, a close ally of the Kremlin, has allowed Russia to use its territory as a staging ground to send troops into Ukraine and to host some of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons.

On Ukraine's Black Sea coast, a Russian strike damaged port infrastructure in the city of Odesa. No casualties were reported.

Ukrainian civilians have endured relentless air assaults since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago. U.S.-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv over the past year have brought no respite, with Russia rejecting Ukraine’s offer of a ceasefire, and in recent weeks the Iran war has diverted international attention from Ukraine’s plight.

Meanwhile, on the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line, Russia claimed Saturday it had taken control of the village of Myropillia in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.

It was not possible to independently verify the battlefield claims, and Ukraine did not immediately comment.

In Russia, local officials in the Krasnodar region said that a fire that broke out Friday following a Ukrainian strike on an oil terminal in the Black Sea city of Tuapse was put out on Saturday.

Ukrainian drones have hit the oil refinery and export terminal in Tuapse on four occasions in just over two weeks, sparking fires that prompted local evacuations and sent up massive plumes of smoke.

Ukraine has escalated its long-distance strikes against Russian oil facilities in an effort to slash Moscow’s oil exports, a key source of funding for its grinding invasion of Ukraine. But the economic impact is so far unclear, as the rise in oil prices from the Iran war, and a related easing of U.S. sanctions, have helped replenish the Kremlin’s coffers.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

FILE - In this image taken from video released by Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev's Telegram channel, smoke rises after a drone attack on the oil refinery and terminal in Tuapse, Russia, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev Telegram channel via AP, File)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire a building following a Russian drone attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire a building following a Russian drone attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)