Trio of top seeded international teams qualify for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan

After securing separate victories on Sunday afternoon, the nations of Slovakia, Denmark, and Latvia have qualified for their opportunity to play in the 2026 Olympic Games. If Russia is to still be disqualified, there will be another team as a substitute; however that is undetermined at this time.

Latvia took on France in the finals and took control of the game after giving up an early goal and cruised to the 5-2 victory; Latvia was led by Lightning goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis who posted a 1.67 GAA and a .913 save percentage for the unbeaten Latvians.

Meanwhile, Denmark had to take on Norway in their qualification final, and whilst up against the likes of current NHLer Mats Zuccarello their chances seemed low. However, after scoring two goals the dam broke open and Denmark added two more in the third period to win 4-1.

Slovakia defeated Kazakhstan to remain undefeated in the qualifier, which was led by Wild goaltender Samuel Hlavaj but were missing NHLers Juraj Slafkovsky and Eric Cernak. After securing a bronze medal in the 2022 Olympics, the Slovakian team looks to medal again, however due to the presence of NHLers in the upcoming games, it may be a bit of a struggle as teams will have much more firepower at their disposal.

A big question going into the Olympics as well is the status of the Russian team. The IIHF will make a decision in February regarding the current ban on the nation due to the War in Ukraine; and if they continue to uphold the ban, a substitute team will be named at a later date.

Source: Sportsnet.ca
Latvia, Denmark, Slovakia men's hockey teams all headed back to Olympics for 2026