We asked 6 Olympians what they think about the Milan rink issues. Here’s what they said

NHL players have not competed in the Olympics since 2014. After more than a decade of them asking to go, the league finally relented ahead of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Games. But their return isn’t as ceremonious as the players had dreamed.

It’s well-documented that the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, the main venue for both men’s and women’s games, won’t be ideal. The main concerns include:

• Construction not being fully completed until the week the hockey games begin.
• The playing surface being more than 3 feet smaller than intended.
• Some of the locker rooms not being up to NHL standards.
• Ice quality not being suitable for several games a day.

But after missing the opportunity to attend so many times, do the players actually care if conditions aren’t ideal? We asked six players, representing four countries, for their thoughts.

Construction resumes today on the Milan Olympic hockey rink at "full speed," according to organizers. There's a lot to get done still

Among critical unfinished business is completing most of the dressing rooms in a building beside the arena, which looked like this Friday night: pic.twitter.com/oPq89lmeVW

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) January 12, 2026

Do NHL players care about the Milano-Cortina Olympic ice rink issues?

The Deseret News’ conversations with Olympians-to-be date back to mid-December. They come from players representing four countries and three NHL teams.

The consensus? They’re happy to be able to attend, regardless of the circumstances.

“I’ll play anywhere,” said Utah Mammoth captain and Team USA forward Clayton Keller.

Having played two seasons at the infamous Mullett Arena in Arizona, Keller is no stranger to less-than-favorable circumstances. He also mentioned that they had mobile locker rooms at the World Championship last spring.

“I’m sure they’ll figure it out,” he said.

Florida Panthers star Brad Marchand, who is set to play for Team Canada, was particularly unconcerned about the 3 feet missing from the neutral zone.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “You’re playing the same game no matter what. The speed of the game is so fast anyways, the rink size doesn’t mean anything. Guys don’t care. No one’s talked about it. No one’s worried about it.”

Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon, who earned the 4 Nations Face-Off MVP award in addition to the trophy with Team Canada last February, isn’t worried about things that he can’t change.

“It’s out of my control,” he told the Deseret News. “I’m just going to go do my best. I don’t think it’ll change too much.”

Germany’s JJ Peterka would have preferred international-sized ice, rather than the smaller, NHL-regulation dimensions that they’d intended to use (to be clear, the rink ended up being even smaller than NHL playing surfaces).

“I think, for nations like us, it would have been better if the rink would have been bigger than the NHL ice, but at the end of the day, I think everyone’s just so excited to finally play (in the) Olympics,” Peterka said. “So, like, for me, personally, I don’t really care, to be honest. I just want to be there and have fun there.”

Finland’s Artturi Lehkonen and Olli Määttä both expressed that they hadn’t spent much time thinking about it.

“We haven’t really talked about it. I think everybody trusts that it’s going to be great, so I think we’re all just excited to go,” Määttä said.

If those six players represent the majority’s opinion, fans should be in store for another all-time tournament.