Latest Italian Olympic hockey rink news is alarming

NHL players will return to the Winter Olympics for the first time in over 10 years in February, but the arena they're set to play in is well behind schedule. According to the latest reports, it seems as if even the rink size is in question less than three months from game action.

The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Milan, Cortina and Northeast Italy in early February, but the hockey arena that both the men's and women's tournaments will be played at is still unfinished and is behind schedule. Even worse, according to the Associated Press, there is no Plan B if the arena is not ready in time. Construction delays on the 16,000-seat Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena have caused tests to be moved to a smaller rink, with reports stating that hockey players might have to compete on untested ice in February.

On Tuesday, NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported the latest blow to the Milano Cortina 2026 hockey arena drama. While talking to Bleacher Report, Seravalli reported that Team Canada coach Peter DeBoer stated that the arena's rink size could be smaller than NHL standard ice by "three or four feet". Usually, the Olympics play on a larger rink surface than the NHL does, but the upcoming Games might see a smaller rink size than that.

With an even smaller rink size than Olympic or NHL standard, the two hockey tournaments in February will likely play drastically different than normal given a much more compact ice surface overall. There's still time for the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena to be finished, but it seems as if the end product could be vastly different than what fans are used to, if it's even completed in time at all.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Latest Italian Olympic hockey rink news is alarming