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NHL 2026 Olympic Hockey Eager to avoid taking a political stand, the NHL will defer to the International Olympic Committee on Russia. Bruce Bennett / Getty Images MILAN — Russian and Belarusian players under the age of 18 could re-enter the international hockey scene as soon as 2027-28 under new IOC recommendations, but the NHL has no current plans to bring Russia back into the fold in time for its 2028 World Cup. Russia and Belarus have been largely banished from international competition since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The league did not include Russia in its 4 Nations Face-Off last year, and the Russians were left out of the 2026 Olympics and recent World Championships. Advertisement Interestingly, neither NHL commissioner Gary Bettman nor IIHF president Luc Tardif, speaking at a news conference in Milan on Thursday, specified that Russia’s reintegration into the hockey community was dependent on the war ending. Instead, they both deferred to the International Olympic Committee, both clearly eager to avoid taking any sort of political stand. Ukrainian luger Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Olympics on Thursday because his helmet included images of his countrymen who were killed in the war. The NHL very much wants to dodge such issues, and making its own determination on Russian participation in league events such as a World Cup would be tantamount to picking a side. “We will follow what the international community is doing in terms of athletics, ” Bettman said. “I don’t see any need for us to weigh in separately. And frankly, in terms of our game and our players, wherever they’re from, if we can steer clear of geopolitical issues — not just this one but a whole host of others that are going on — I think that’s better for the game, better for our players and better for our fans. ” The NHL returned to the Olympics in Milan after skipping the last two events in South Korea and China. The phrase “best on best” has become synonymous with the event now that NHL players are involved, but Russia remains the elephant that’s not in the room. No Alex Ovechkin, no Nikita Kucherov, no Kirill Kaprizov, no Evgeni Malkin, no Igor Shesterkin, no Ilya Sorokin, no Andrei Vasilevskiy. Tardif also said that his organization heeds the International Olympic Committee’s guidance. And while the IOC suggested last month that under-18 players from the two nations could return to competition for 2027-28, the senior teams are still banned. Tardif, again wary of taking any sort of political stand, said that the security of the event — including the security of the Russian and Belarusian players — is the primary concern, not the moral underpinnings of the decision. Advertisement “We try to keep away the politics from our competition, but sometimes that’s not so easy, ” Tardif said. “We want, as soon as possible, the Belarus and the Russians back. Because first, it will mean that the world will be a little bit better. But every time when we have to say to Belarus and Russia that it’s a little bit too soon to come back, we (make) the decision. But we follow the recommendation of IOC. And for the team sports, at the moment they’re not allowed to participate at the Olympics. ” NHLPA director Marty Walsh — who represents all NHL players, including the Russians — also spoke at Thursday’s news conference but didn’t weigh in on the topic. “I don’t really have much to add to that, ” he said after Tardif spoke. “This is a decision based above my level of pay, and it’s something that we’ll see as you move forward here. ” Here are Bettman’s thoughts on a few other topics: • The Olympics award three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout loss, and zero points for a regulation loss. Bettman has no appetite to bring such a system to the NHL, and Walsh said he’s never had a player approach him about it. “There isn’t much discussion, ” Bettman said. “We like what we have and we like the way it plays out over our 82-game season and our playoffs, the way we do it. And I think it’s a little unfair, for lack of a better word, to compare a two-week tournament to a 10-month season. And so we like the way our games play out and the way our schedule plays out. We’re aware that there are alternatives. But we’re not in search of a problem to fix. ” • The IOC, in collaboration with its partners such as NBC in the United States and CBC in Canada, severely restrict the league’s ability to use footage of Olympic hockey games. Bettman said it’s slowly getting better, but there’s a long way to go. Advertisement “There is more flexibility than we’ve had in the past, ” he said. “Players are allowed to create content as participants, we’re allowed to retweet it. In some respects, we have better access than we did before. It will continue to evolve. ” Bettman said the IOC is starting to realize hockey’s significance to the Winter Games, and has gradually become more cooperative. “Having access to things like Sidney Crosby’s goal in Vancouver (in 2010) is important, ” Bettman said. • There’s been some histrionics over Canada coach Jon Cooper’s decision to close a practice to the press earlier in the week. Bettman said that won’t be a practice that makes its way to the NHL. “We’re not looking to change our rules, ” he said. “We like what we have and when we’re in control, we do what we think is best. ” Walsh said the players have not expressed concern over the increased workload created by having an international tournament every two years, but the NHLPA is monitoring it to “make sure we’re protecting our players. ” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Mark Lazerus is a senior NHL writer for The Athletic based out of Chicago. He has covered the Blackhawks and the league at large for 13 seasons for The Athletic and the Chicago Sun-Times. He has been named one of the top three columnists in the country twice in the past three years by the Associated Press Sports Editors. Follow Mark on Twitter @Mark Lazerus