The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are into the final week, and the knockout medal bracket in men’s hockey is upon us.
Olympic hockey bracket: Live updates as men’s teams advance through 2026 knockout rounds
All 12 teams are moving on to the knockout stage of the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
All 12 teams still have a chance at reaching the gold medal game, but for eight of those teams, they will need to win a qualification playoff game first to keep their medal hopes alive. Four teams, however, officially clinched a spot in the bracket and await winners of the four qualification playoff games.
The 12 Olympic men’s hockey teams were placed into three groups of four teams each. Following the preliminary games, the 12 teams were ranked from 1-12, with the top four teams securing a bye.
Who has advanced to the knockout medal bracket?
Group A
Canada - Automatic qualifier
Switzerland - Advanced to qualification playoffs
Czechia - Advanced to qualification playoffs
France - Advanced to qualification playoffs
Group B
Slovakia - Automatic qualifier
Finland - Automatic qualifier
Sweden - Advanced to qualification playoffs
Italy - Advanced to qualification playoffs
Group C
United States - Automatic qualifier
Germany - Advanced to qualification playoffs
Denmark - Advanced to qualification playoffs
Latvia - Advanced to qualification playoffs
What were the rankings after the preliminary games?
Here is how the teams were ranked, and these seedings were used to reseed the field prior to the beginning of b racket play. Factors used in the rankings included group standings, goal differential, and more.
- Canada
- United States
- Slovakia
- Finland
- Switzerland
- Germany
- Sweden
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Latvia
- France
- Italy
What does the medal bracket look like?
Qualification Playoff Games
Germany 5, France 1
Switzerland 3, Italy 0
Czechia 3, Denmark 2
Sweden 5, Latvia 1
Quarterfinals
Slovakia 6, Germany 2
Canada 4, Czechia 3
Finland 3, Switzerland 2
United States 2, Sweden 1
Semifinals
Canada vs. Finland: Friday, February 20, 10:40 a.m. Eastern
United States vs. Slovakia: Friday, February 20, 3:10 p.m. Eastern
Finals
Bronze: Feb. 21, 1:40 a.m.
Gold: Feb. 22, 7:10 a.m.
(Note: Teams will be reseeded based on the preliminary round rankings following the quarterfinals).
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