Can Team USA end drought and win men's ice hockey gold at Milano Cortina 2026?

By the time of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, it will have been 30 years since Team USA won an international men's ice hockey tournament.

The three-decade drought since the Americans took home the inaugural NHL-sanctioned World Cup of Hockey in 1996 might seem hard to believe, given the USA's standing as one of the usual powerhouses in world hockey.

However, for many reasons, things just haven't worked out for the U.S. – whose droughts at the Olympics and official IIHF World Championships date back even further than 1996, to 1980 and 1960 respectively.

Remarkably, since the U.S. men took that World Cup gold in 1996, the women have won 10 IIHF World Women's Championships and two Olympic titles.

But could all that change in 2026?

NHL power on show

Notably, Milano Cortina 2026 is due to see the return of National Hockey League players to the Olympic Games.

Olympic men's ice hockey hasn't been "best-on-best" since Sochi 2014, with NHLers missing out on both PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022.

Granted, having NHL players involved means other countries also see their ranks bolstered with their top NHL talent, notably the likes of Canada, Sweden, and Finland.

But perhaps it's no surprise that the last time the United States even reached the Olympic semi-finals was in 2014, with a team of mostly college, European-based, and AHL players making up the 2018 and 2022 rosters.

Having that NHL experience on the team will make a difference – but how much, really?

The U.S. can and does call on NHL players at the IIHF World Championships, with the caveat that the World Championships normally overlap with the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs and isn't therefore a true "best-on-best" – but often does not send full-strength squads, making a comparison difficult to draw.

The underdog factor

It might seem ridiculous to suggest, but given the United States last won Olympic gold in 1980 – still fondly remembered for the "Miracle on Ice" against the Soviet Union – in the days before NHL players could compete, one might almost consider Team USA an underdog.

Even if most fans wouldn't like that designation, given the proud support Team USA always enjoys, Milano Cortina 2026 will mark 46 years since the team last won gold – and 16 since it last reached the gold medal game.

The heartbreaking overtime defeat in the Vancouver 2010 final to Sidney Crosby's literal golden goal remains the last time the U.S. played in a championship game for Olympic gold.

So perhaps approaching Milano Cortina from the perspective that Team USA isn't expected to go in as a medal favourite might actually make a difference. Without the pressure of being expected to reach the podium, could Team USA finally end the drought?

Looking to the future

Or maybe men's hockey gold is out of reach for another four, or even eight, years for the U.S.?

Even if Milano Cortina 2026 isn't the one to end the drought for the U.S., the pipeline is bright. After all, Team USA's under-16s did win gold at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in January.

The Olympic Winter Games return to home ice at Salt Lake City–Utah 2034, and of course the Americans will have every incentive to win that one.

While an extra eight years past Milano Cortina might seem a long time, the core group of players who won gold in Gangwon this year, which included children and grandchildren of some NHL greats, will be in their mid-20s prime should they continue playing. Maybe they'll be the ones tasting success.

Could it be up to the women, again?

In the meantime, ultimately, it may once more come down to the U.S. women to take hockey gold home to North America, just as they did in 1998 and 2018.

The American women have been much more successful than their male counterparts on the international stage, often going skate-to-skate with their northern neighbours Canada at the very top.

The USA have featured in every single gold-medal game at the IIHF World Women's Championship since the inaugural edition in 1990, which the men haven't ever done in their equivalent tournament (knockout rounds being introduced to the men's World Championships in 1992).

Of those 23 appearances in the final, the U.S. women have won 10, the most recent coming in 2023 in Brampton, Canada.

While the men will no doubt want to finally right the ship and come away with Olympic gold, it's hard to argue that the women are more likely to do so in Milan.