No Blackhawks news to report with the team on its bye week, but there’s been a slew of international hockey news announced on Friday.
With all of the hockey world gathered for the All-Star Weekend, commissioner Gary Bettman announced that NHL players will be returning to the Olympics, starting in 2026:
NHL players have not skated at the Olympics since 2014, missing the 2018 games in PyeongChang and the 2022 games in Beijing. The 2026 Olympics are scheduled for northern Italy.
Whether or not Russia plays in those Olympics is yet to be determined. Russia has been banned from other international competitions, such as the World Juniors, due to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine:
And there’s one important feature of the next Olympic hockey competition that should be mentioned here as well:
And if 2026 is too long to wait for an international hockey competition, another is on the way in 2025:
That tournament means there will be no All-Star game in 2025, but Friedman provided additional details on how the tournament will unfold:
Here’s a full recap of all the international hockey heading our way over the next decade or so:
So, get ready for Connor Bedard vs. Frank Nazar in a lot of gold-medal games, is what we’re saying.