Men’s Olympic preliminary round recap

Summary

The Athletic Hockey Show — Men’s Olympic Preliminary Round Recap

Date: February 16, 2026
Hosts: Max Bultman, Jesse Granger
Guest: Mark Lazarus (reporting live from Milan)

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Overview

This episode delivers a detailed breakdown of the men’s Olympic hockey tournament as it transitions from the preliminary round to the knockout stage. The hosts explore the performance of top teams (notably Canada and the USA), rising stars, upsets (especially Slovakia’s group win), and shifting expectations. Mark Lazarus joins to share first-hand atmosphere and insights from Milan, including team dynamics, under-the-radar contenders, and the tournament's emotional stakes.

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Key Discussion Points

1. The Top Contenders — Canada and the USA

Timestamps: [02:12–07:39]

• Canada’s Dominance

  • Canada and the USA both finished unbeaten in group play; Canada takes the top seed.
  • The hosts discuss how the skill gap has widened at the top, with Canada setting a new standard.
  • Max Bultman: “I think the gap has widened quite a bit … Canada is clearly the best team.” [02:48]
  • Connor McDavid is averaging a record-breaking three points per game; McDavid, McKinnon, and Celebrini have been united on a “ridiculous” top line.
  • Macklin Celebrini’s instant Olympic impact at just 19 is a major storyline.

• USA's Strengths and Limitations

  • The USA’s depth and blue line are strong; Brock Nelson, Jack Eichel, and the Tkachuks are mentioned, though not matching the superstar levels of Canada’s top players.
  • Jesse Granger: “The US … got the best blue line in the tournament, the best goaltending … But I don’t think we knew [Canada’s forwards] were this much better.” [04:41, condensed]

• Goaltending Battle

  • Jordan Binnington (Canada) has looked good but “still gives some concern” if pushed by elite competition.
  • Connor Hellebuyck (USA) showed his “Vezina-winning form” for the first time since knee surgery, giving hope that goaltending could be the equalizer against Canada.
  • Max Bultman: “The only difference … is [Binnington] has superstars at every other position, so his mistakes don’t matter.” [05:28]
  • Hosts agree: The US’s best route to gold is Hellebuyck outdueling Binnington.

2. Knockout Paths and Bracket Dynamics

Timestamps: [07:39–11:36]

• Paths to the Gold Medal Match

  • Canada seems to have an easier road, facing possible quarterfinal opponents like Czechia or Germany.
  • The USA likely receives a tough quarterfinal test against Sweden.
  • Both hosts discuss how single-elimination volatility and reseeding add unpredictability to semifinals/matchups.

• “Team to Avoid”

  • Sweden’s drop to the 7th seed means a potential USA quarterfinal matchup, making the path harder.
  • Finland, despite a rough start, now looks revitalized after beating Sweden.

3. On-Site Atmosphere and Slovakia’s Fairy Tale

Timestamps: [14:15–20:31]

• Mark Lazarus from Milan

  • Provides an on-the-ground view of the Slovakian team’s energy and confidence after their shock group win.
  • Slovakia’s win over Finland, coupled with their group-topping run, reshuffles expectations.
  • Mark Lazarus: “Slovakia is pretty legit here … Slavkovsky is like the greatest Olympic hockey player of all time. He’s got 10 goals in 10 games ... This team just seems to have some belief.” [15:22]

• Team Identity and Pressure

  • Slovakia is “playing with house money,” free of the medal-or-bust anxiety weighing on Canada and the USA.
  • Lazarus: “If Slovakia wins a bronze medal, they're getting parades, they're getting statues and they know it … There’s a lightness in their step.” [18:39]

4. Evaluating Other Contenders: Switzerland, Germany, Czechia, Sweden, Finland

Timestamps: [20:31–29:13]

• Switzerland

  • The Swiss “had as good a pool round as anyone,” led by goaltender Leonardo Genoni and strong team defense. Their medal chances are very real.

• Germany and Czechia

  • Germany “hasn’t been impressive,” but is still a danger in the bracket.
  • Czechia, featuring Dostal in net and a high-end first line (Nečas, Pastrňák), is exposed for its lack of depth, making them less of a threat unless they get a hot goaltender.

• Finland and Sweden

  • Finland's turnaround, defeating Sweden, positions them as the likely bronze favorite.
  • Sweden remains enigmatic—talented but inconsistent, in need of top goaltending from Philip Gustavsson to challenge for medals.

5. Tournament Trends, Pressure, and the Meaning of Group Play

Timestamps: [29:13–31:43]

• Strength of Schedule?

  • Both Canada and the USA have coasted through weaker opposition; it remains to be seen who is “built” to beat strong teams in tight games.
  • The USA’s team construction emphasizes winning close, “first-to-three” games over run-and-gun offense.

• Goaltending X-Factor

  • “Getting goalied” is always plausible in Olympic elimination settings—Lucas Dostal, Connor Hellebuyck, Leonardo Genoni, or another hot goalie could shape a pivotal upset.

6. Standout Individual Performers

Timestamps: [37:27–40:59]

• Highlight Players
  • Juraj Slafkovsky (Slovakia): “Just built for this”; scoring at an incredible pace with national pride.
  • Macklin Celebrini (Canada): Not just “along for the ride,” but a dominant force on Canada’s top line.
  • J.J. Moser (Switzerland), Timo Meier (Switzerland), Martin Nečas (Czechia), Tim Stutzle (Germany): All have raised their international profiles with standout performances.
  • USA blue liners Quinn Hughes and Zach Werenski are praised for their two-way play.

7. MVP and Medal Predictions

Timestamps: [40:59–43:19]

• MVP Front-Runners

  • Connor McDavid is the clear MVP favorite overall, but US candidates (if they win gold) are likely Jack Eichel or Quinn Hughes, depending on pivotal performances.
  • Jesse Granger: "If the US is going to do this, [Quinn Hughes is] probably my answer for USA's best player and most valuable player." [41:50]

• Bronze Medal Outlook

  • Both hosts now favor Finland for bronze after their resurgence.

• Bold Prediction

  • Listener “Whiskey and Wings” offers: “Pasta [Pastrňák] hat-trick sends Canada home.” [43:19]
  • Hosts rate this a “10 out of 10” for boldness.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Canada’s top line boldness:
  Jesse Granger: “They had a line that had Celebrini, McKinnon and McDavid on one line. That is … the three highest scoring NHL players at these Olympics.” [03:18]

• Atmosphere and Pressure:
  Mark Lazarus: “It’s gold or bust for them, right? … If Slovakia wins a bronze medal, they're getting parades … They're playing with house money right now.” [18:39]

• Why tournament hockey is unpredictable:
  Mark Lazarus: “All it takes. And now that we're in single elimination, every team left can get goalie’d. Canada can get goalie’d. We saw it in Sochi with Kristers Gudļevskis almost upsetting them.” [21:00]

• On USA’s MVP if they win gold:
  Jesse Granger: “If the US is going to do this, [Quinn Hughes is] probably my answer for USA's best player and most valuable player.” [41:50]

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• 02:12 – Opening analysis of Canada & USA, gap at the top
• 04:01 – Power of Canada’s top line; US blue line strengths
• 05:28 – Goaltending debate: Binnington vs Hellebuyck
• 07:39 – Knockout stage paths and bracket permutations
• 14:15 – Mark Lazarus joins from Milan
• 15:22 – Slovakia group win and upsets
• 18:39 – Differences in team pressure and Olympic atmosphere
• 20:31 – Switzerland’s strong showing and goaltending threats
• 29:13 – Canada vs US: Is group stage play masking true gap?
• 37:27 – Breakout stars: Slafkovsky, Celebrini, Moser, etc.
• 41:50 – USA’s possible MVPs, blue line, and Finland’s medal chances
• 43:19 – Listener’s bold prediction: Pastrňák sends Canada home

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Tone & Flow

The hosts maintain a lively and analytical tone, balancing respect for favorites with recognition of upsets and wildcards. Their banter and Lazarus’s live color make the summary both comprehensive and easy to follow, especially for listeners who missed the episode or want a concentrated guide to Olympic men’s hockey as of February 16, 2026.

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Transcript

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[Max Boltman]

This is the athletic hockey show.

[Jesse Granger]

Hey everybody. Max Boltman here alongside Jesse Granger for another episode of the Athletic Hockey Show. Coming at you just after the conclusion of preliminary play at the Olympics. Mark Lazarus going to join us from Milan shortly. But Jesse, we've, we've had a week of hockey to digest here. I don't think any huge surprises at the top, right? I mean, this is what we expected the whole way. Canada and USA, the unbeaten through pool play. They will be the 1 and 2 seeds now that we get into the knockout round. But I do wonder with what you saw over the course of the last week. Has the gap at the top widened a little bit? I mean what, what Canada has shown at the very top of their lineup is, is pretty impressive.

[Max Boltman]

Yeah, I think it's. I think the gap has widened quite a bit. I, I'll be honest, I went into this tournament thinking it was 50, 50, maybe, maybe give Canada the slight edge as an American. I picked the US to win the gold and I felt pretty decent about it. I no longer feel pretty decent about it. I think Canada is clearly the best team. I think the US Has a chance to beat them. But I, I went from thinking that this is like two teams kind of on level playing field to thinking to me, Canada is clearly the better team. But I think US can, can pull off the upset still.

[Jesse Granger]

Canada is as deep a team as you can possibly build. We, we know that. But I do think that the difference when we talk about the gap widening, it is at the very top of the lineup. It is because of the stars on Team Canada. Connor McDavid with averaging three points a game through pool play. It's ridiculous. It's the new high water mark for an Olympics that has NHL players at it. That's obviously sublime. But I think the readiness of Macklin Celebrini has been one of the major stories of this tournament. They've put out some ridiculous lines, frankly. They had a line that had Celebrini, McKinnon and McDavid on one line. That is the three highest scoring NHL players at these Olympics could also all be centering their own line and be excellent. They're able to roll them out together. I don't know if we'll see him do that against the USA or not, but that I think typifies the flex that Team Canada has shown.

[Max Boltman]

Yep, totally agree with you. I think when you look at the, like the, the, the bottom of the lineup, I think the US Depth has shown well. Obviously Brock Nelson's having a great tournament. They, they can hang with Canada in terms of the depth. The blue line for the US was, has been phenomenal. They just had a huge game in this most recent one today. I thought the blue line was phenomenal, but they're just, they don't have that extra level of superstar ability that like, like Jack Eichel having a good tournament. The Chucks are kind of doing their thing. They're not having a bad tournament, but they aren't the same level that McKinnon and McDavid have been in. Crosby at times. Canada, man, when they've got, especially on that power play, it's it's pretty unreal to watch.

[Jesse Granger]

And Austin, we're talking about this on Sunday night. Auston Matthews just had his best game of the tournament with a couple goals and a really nice assist. So that's good to see. It's a guy who needs to get going and it's happening at the right time. But I had someone ask me, like, before this tournament began, like, give me some hope for how USA can do this. And I said, they got the best blue line in the tournament. They got the best goaltending in the tournament. I think we already knew Canada had the best forwards. I don't think we. We knew that. It was by the margin that it looked through pool play. And I think the other side of that is that I think the gap in goal is closer than I would have made it out to be. At least coming into this tournament. Jordan Biddington had an excellent opener against the Czechs. Obviously, there's, there's room for a little bit of debate here. And I, I want to ask you, like, did your opinion of the goaltending gap?

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[Jesse Granger]

Is. Am I on the right track there, that it shrank in. In pool play? I.

[Max Boltman]

This won't be popular because goalies are judged only off of how many goals they allow, and Jordan Bennington hasn't allowed very many goals. So pretty much like, when I look on Twitter, the conversation seems to have completely changed and everyone thinks that the goaltending woes were overblown and they're past it. I'm not as convinced. I will say that when I watch the process of Jordan Bennington, not just the results. I'm seeing the exact same thing that I'm seeing in St. Louis. The only difference is he's got superstars at every other position on the ice, so that his mistakes don't matter. Like, I had this conversation with Dom the other day. I think Bennington is playing further out at the top of his crease to make up for him just not feeling like himself. And he's just trying to kind of compensate and it's leading to rebound goals. Now. He did allow a rebound goal again today. It was the only. Like, there was. There weren't many chances, so. So it doesn't stick out as a bad game. But I. I do still have some concerns that if Canada plays a team that can hang with them and, and match them chance for chance, Bennington could be the weakness that ends up costing them the gold. I still do think that. And I also think that Connor Hellebuck today showed another level that I Haven't seen from him since his knee surgery. I've been a little hesitant on Conor Hellebuk. Like, he's still a great goalie, but he hasn't looked like the elite Conor Hellebuk that we're used to seeing since that knee surgery. Since he's come back from Winnipeg. Today was the first time I've ever thought, there it is. There's the Connor Hellebuk. He's ahead of the play. He's never going to be the quickest goalie because he's a monster of a guy and he's not the most athletic person. It's so important for him to be ahead of the play, reading the play, predicting where it's going to go. But when you're that big and you are ahead of the play, good luck scoring on that guy. And that's what he looked like today. I mean, he was ahead of the play the entire way. When, when Germany did get a chance, they were bas just firing it into his chest because there's nowhere to shoot. That was the Connor Hellebuk that I was kind of waiting to see. Now we'll see as the competition gets better for both Biddington and Hellebuck where their games go. But as. As much as I just said, I think the gap is bigger. I do think that the goaltending still is the reason, like, if Conor Hellebuk plays his A game and Bennington's not quite as strong as Canada needs him, that's how the US Wins this game. If, if we end up getting the.

[Jesse Granger]

Matchup we're all expecting, and that's the key point here, because they are the. The top two seeds. It's not a guarantee that we're going to get that matchup. Although it does set up that if it happens, it's going to come in the gold medal game. Let's talk about the paths that these two teams are going to have to take to make that a reality, though for Canada, it looks a little easier on paper.

[Max Boltman]

Right.

[Jesse Granger]

The USA is very likely going to get a quarterfinal matchup with Sweden. We do not expect Canada is going to be tested to quite that same degree, but they are going to still see some very real teams here. There's a chance they could see Czechia in the quarterfinal, a team that they, you know, obviously shut out in a dominant effort in, in the first game of this tournament, but who absolutely on the right game can, can give them a real challenge. Finland, a very possible outcome for them in the semifinal round. Those are two very good teams. They're teams that are not going to probably be able to trade chances. That was what you kind of said with, in, in the Bennington discussion is if they play a team that's, that's trading chances with them. I don't know that I see trading chances, but we saw this in the Finland and Sweden game. If you trail Finland, they can really smother you. And so if Finland is able to score a goal early, they certainly have the talent to score first in any game. I think that could change the dynamic here. It's an interesting road for Canada and there's certainly the possibility that Germany upsets Slovakia or maybe it's not even an upset. That's the 63 game as it would slot. Assuming everything goes according to plan. And then it could be Canada, Germany and Finland could be the United States problem. So it's an interesting set of circumstances here. I think I prefer Canada's path to the United States.

[Max Boltman]

Yeah. Unless like the one thing I will say is I think the US has an easier path if Slovakia stays down in their bracket. So now because of the receding, we don't know. It's not like the NCAA bracket where we can predict who you're going to play in the Final Four or the Elite Eight. Like the receding kind of messes things up. But assuming Slovakia can continue playing well, like they haven't beat Germany, I actually prefer the US Path not having to play Finland in that now. Now they may be a bit more difficult quarterfinal kind of quarterfinal matchup. But to me, the semifinal is where you're going to get your big test. And I like if I'm the U.S. i'm, I'm happy with Slovakia being that test as opposed to one of the four nations teams.

[Jesse Granger]

Right. And again, that's if they're, if it's Germany and if they're able to beat them.

[Mark Lazarus]

Right.

[Jesse Granger]

So there's still some contingencies, but this is how we have a fairly good idea for how it's going to shake up. It's not like you said, it's not a perfect bracket, but I think we can probabilistically look at this and say that the likeliest outcomes here are either, you know, if Germany wins and they're going to play Canada and the US Will get Finland, Slovakia wins, then the US Will get Slovakia and Canada will likely get Finland if the US can get by Sweden. And that's the real, the big story I think coming out of pool play is that Sweden, a team that I picked for the bronze medal here, is at the Seventh seed here and it's a very hard road for them, but it certainly makes the United States path that much. This is, this is a metal contender is going to go out in the quarterfinal situation.

[Max Boltman]

Yeah, for sure. They, they haven't looked great. I haven't gotten to see as much Sweden just because as I was mentioning to you in the free 3am West coast time, I've been getting up for the 7am games every day. I can't bring myself to get up to the 3am I will be doing it for the knockout stage games. I'm getting up to watch the 3am games but I haven't done it so far in group stage. It's, it's super interesting. Like Finland started off the tournament, it looked like they were going to be the disaster, right? It looked like, wow, this is what is going on with Finland. Then they get that amazing performance from UC Soros, they beat Sweden and now all of a sudden we feel like Finland is the biggest challenger out there. Other than it's. It's just funny how quickly things can change in a, in a tournament like this that's so small, like so condensed and we, we don't get to see these teams outside of this. So we, we don't have strong opinions on like in the NHL when a team has a bad game, we're like, whatever we've seen, we know what this team is. So we'll just ignore that. In a tournament like this where we don't get to see these teams, I feel like at least opinion of these teams is swinging like drastically every day when I watch another game.

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[Mark Lazarus]

Well, first, first of all, that, that game was one of the weirdest games I've ever seen where the, you know, Slovakia scores to make it 5 to 3. They're losing and they're celebrating. Your ice left. He's losing his mind celebrating. And then Sweden pulls the goalie up to trying to get that third goal. Like, you got to love the, the inanity of goal differential being the, the differentiator here. I, I was listening to you guys just now and you're kind of dismissive of Slovakia and I don't think you should be. I think Slovakia is pretty legit here. Coming into this tournament. I think a lot of us, myself included, had like Czechia as maybe like the, the team that could upset the apple cart and make the medal round because of their goaltending, because they're high end skill with posternach and nature. But there's something about the Slovakia team. Your eyes. Levkovsky is like the greatest Olympic hockey player of all time. He's got 10 goals in 10 games, which is insane to think about, dating back to when he was 17 years old in Beijing. And this team just seems to have some belief around it. Samuel. And it's hard to say his name. Hollavi. My Slovakian friends here have been correcting me on that as Kalavai has been very good, very solid. He's got a. He's another one of those guys. He's with the Iowa Wild. He's terrible. He was so bad this year that he got demoted to the ECHL for a game and then gave up four goals in that game. But in international play, he's always been really good. And you see this at this, these, these kinds of tournaments where you have guys that play differently when they have the national crest on their sweater or whatever it is, they play lights out. And you know, other than Slavkovski, you know, you got like a dalla board divorce and you got some talent on this team, but beyond Slavkowski, they seem to really buy into what they're doing. They play a really sound, smart, safe game. And I don't think that's a team that's going to get blown out by anybody I think they can hang with just about anybody. Canada and the U.S. probably not, but you could see them getting into the middle round at this rate.

[Jesse Granger]

The key thing for them is it shapes up, would be a matchup against Germany. And I think what's interesting is then it's. It's kind of the same style of construction, but I would just say the higher end for. For the German side. Right. Like, if you have one defining forward, it's Dry, Seidel and Slavkovski. If you're defining defenseman, it's Cider and Nemetz. Goal can be an equalizer. But I. I still think I'm taking Grubauer over Levi. But based on the way this tournament has gone, far be it for me to dismiss the Slovaks. They have been the story, I think, of the tournament outside of the favorites.

[Mark Lazarus]

Yeah. And Germany hasn't exactly been all that impressive. I think a lot of us expected more out of Germany than we've seen. You know, they didn't have really any fight against the United States today. It was. Other than their. Their wonderfully named goalie, Maximilian Bronze Rib, I think it was. I'm already forgetting, but he was really good in the first period, and then the United States just took it to them that this German team is not very impressive to me right now. Slovakia is playing with purpose, and they have a lot more belief right now. You talk to the German players, and they're kind of down on themselves. The Slovaks are having the time of their lives, man. They are living it up. They are. They are doing exactly what they always dreamed they'd be able to do, and they're playing with a lot of swagger right now. And I think that does make a difference in an elimination game.

[Max Boltman]

That. That's something that, like, I was going to kind of ask you, like, is there anything that you feel like you understand about this tournament being there on the ground level that we don't? That's something that I haven't gotten at all, like, from watching the coverage online or seeing the tweets or whatever. Is there anything else that you feel like maybe. Maybe you guys are experiencing there that isn't coming through, that you're not seeing everybody on Twitter talking about or anything like that.

[Mark Lazarus]

It's hard to say because, like, so many people that I follow on Twitter are here, and we're, like, in this echo chamber yelling at each other in the press tribune and all that. I find that, like, for the US And Canada, they're having a great time. Do not get me Wrong. They are. You know, you hear the Chucks talk about what this experience is like. Matthew Tkachuk just now in the mix zone called it a life changing experience. It's all true. But, and I wrote about this a little bit earlier in the tournament, it's gold or bust for them, right? Like, they are so much pressure. If the United States wins silver, they have failed. If Canada wins silver, they have failed. If Slovakia wins a bronze medal, they're getting parades, they're getting statues and they know it. They're playing with house money right now. They've already exceeded expectations and there, there's a lightness in their step that I feel I don't see in Canada and the United States. Canada is just absolutely steamrolling people and they know it and they're having a lot of fun in the McKinnon, McDavid, Celebrini line. Everyone's having a great time. Tom Wilson getting into a fight. Everybody on Team Canada is loving that. But deep down they know that there is no room for error for them. Slovakia, no matter what happens, the rest of the way, is going to feel good about what happened here. And I do think that there are X factors like that when you're playing at this stage. Even superstar athletes feel the pressure. Look at Ilya Malin and the figure skater. He's the greatest in the world and he knows it. And he completely fell apart. And he talked about how the pressure of the stage got to him. Jeremy Swayman brushed it off yesterday because of the way it happened and it happened in a win. But the moment was big for him in that first period and you could sense it. I do think that even the best professional athletes in the world are susceptible to that at this level. They've never been none of these guys pretty much other than like your Crosby and your, you know, Roman Cherving is, have been here before and I don't know how everyone's going to handle it, but I do know the weight on the US on Sweden and on Canada is very, very different than it is on the Czechs, on the Swiss, on the Slovaks. And I think that's why you do see upsets in these tournaments and at world championships and things like that.

[Jesse Granger]

You mentioned the Swiss. I think, you know we're going to give a lot of the attention to Slovakia because they won their group. That's deserved. But I think Switzerland had as good a pool, pool play round relative to expectations as anyone in this tournament. They ultimately take second in Group A. It's the Canada group, so you Know, you have a. A decisive defeat at the hands of the tournament favorites on there to, you know, throw everything out of whack a little bit, but just pound for pound. The Swiss, certainly a metal contender coming out of the preliminaries.

[Mark Lazarus]

It's a really good team. You know, they've got all the pieces. They've got.

[Max Boltman]

You know, they've.

[Mark Lazarus]

They've kind of snuck up on the international community. I feel like the last 10 years or so where they're on a par with the checks. They're on a par with. You know, I would put them ahead of the Germans and the Slovaks and the bigger picture. They're in that second tier. They're fighting with Finland, really, to be the number four team, right, that it's. It's the U.S. canada and Sweden, and then it's Finland, and then it's Czechs and Swiss and maybe the Germans on a good day, and the Slovaks are trying to get to that point. The Swiss are legit. Like, that's a tough team. They've won silver in worlds the last couple years. They're goalie. I know that. That Jesse must love Leo. Leonardo Jononi. I have so much enjoyed talking to Leonardo Ginoni. He's 38. He's just like the nicest guy in the world. He's very bright guy, and he's really delightful to talk to. There's a lot to like about that Swiss team can. Do they have the firepower to hang with the big boys? Probably not, but they could give you all kinds of fits. And again, all it takes. And now that we're in the single elimination, every team left can get goalie. Canada can get goalie. We saw it in Sochi with Krister Goodalevskas almost upsetting them in the quarterfinal round with Latvia. Latvia almost beat Canada. The great. That 2014 Sochi Canadian team is the greatest team ever assembled. And they almost lost a lot via in the quarterfinal, it was tied 11 with 7 minutes to go because Christie's Guzlevskis went nuts. That can always happen. And there's a lot of good goalies. You know, Lucas Dostal can do that. Leonardo Ginnoni can do that. Maybe even Samuel Hollivi can do that. We don't know. That's the beauty of this tournament is we don't know. It only takes one guy.

[Jesse Granger]

Yeah, I know we're gonna have to let you out of here to write in just a second here, but I do want to just get your thoughts on the favorites on USA and Canada. That's where we led the show with. So people have heard from us on this, but how did the first week here of play affect your outlook for both Canada and the U.S. i feel.

[Mark Lazarus]

A lot better about Canada than I do about the Americans right now. I don't feel like I'm not worried about the Americans, but the Americans feel like much more of an unfinished product where they're still working out some kinks. Austin Matthews is really good today. I know. I just wrote a column kind of, you know, questioning his captaincy and all that. He was really good today. He was good in the third period yesterday. That's a great sign when he's good. Those top two lines are going. Eichel, Matthews down the middle. That can compete with anything Canada can throw at them. But overall, the vibes around Canada, they're just dominating. They're having fun. They're scoring ridiculous goals. Celebrini's got four goals in three games. McDavid's got nine points. The U.S. isn't doing that. The U.S. is kind of stumbling around and they're winning handily. They're winning by four or five goals every game. But they don't look terribly dominant or impressive doing it. And I don't know if that's because these games don't really matter and they knew they were going to cruise. Maybe they can flip that switch, but it's really hard to do that in a short tournament like this. I have questions about the Americans right now. That Sweden game in the quarterfinal, assuming that's what we get, that's going to be a really, really big game. And it's entirely plausible. Sweden is in the same way. Sweden and the United States have both kind of looked good and then bad. Like, Sweden had an awesome third period the other day. It looked terrible in the first two periods. I don't know what to make of the Swedes right now, but we know they have the talent and the goaltending and everything to hang. I feel much better about Canada than I do about the US Right now.

[Jesse Granger]

The only thing I'd quibble with is you said, you know, Eichel and Matthews can match up with whatever Canada can throw at him. Boy, after this week, I don't know if I even think that's true at this point. Like. Like the gap might be that real at the top. McDavid, McKinnon, Crosby, and you could argue Celebrini. I think I can argue that all you get through all four of those centers before you get to USA's best center, and that's with a ton of respect for Jack Eichel. I think they're they very well may have four of the five best centers in this tournament, with the other, in my opinion, being Leon Draisaitl. They're playing one or two of them on the wing at any given time.

[Mark Lazarus]

Well, that's what we talked about going in, right? The forward depth for Canada was absurd. The goaltending depth for the United States was absurd. And the defense is kind of a mix. Like, you know, I think I still like Team USA's defense more than I like Canada's. And the question is, can they slow those guys down? Because right now Canada has not played a team that is worthy of them. And I I don't it's one thing to beat up on some of these smaller countries. I want to see what they can do against a Finland, a really good, defensive, smart, responsible team like Finland. And of course I want to see what they can do against the United States.

[Jesse Granger]

All right, last thanks for jumping on with us here. I know you got to go, right? We always appreciate hearing from you. And eat some pizza for us.

[Mark Lazarus]

All right, dude, all I'm eating is arena food. Jesse's talking about being up at 3 in the morning. I don't get back to the hotel till three in the morning every day. So he's like living a bizarro life as me.

[Jesse Granger]

All I'm hearing is more, more waking hours to be eating pizza and pasta. So I think you can find a way.

[Mark Lazarus]

There is a pizza place right around the corner from our hotel. It's open till 5am every night. I just want to say the Athletic has been there frequently.

[Jesse Granger]

I would hope so. All right, last get some sleep, man. Thank you.

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[Jesse Granger]

A lot of good stuff there from Laz Jesse. And you know, I think he's right to say that maybe we're, we're taking for granted the ease of the Slovaks. It's just there's such a star power gap, right? Like it's. I don't think that they're just a cute story to win the group, but when you get into these games where it's the volume of stars that they're going to see and the pressure that they're going to see them in, it's very hard for me to see them overcoming it. But that doesn't mean they can't medal. I mean, you win one game against Germany and you're in the medal round and you could catch a team that's very dejected going into the bronze. And certainly as is right to point out that some Slavkovsky has been as good as anybody in this tournament so far.

[Max Boltman]

Depending on who the. Like you said, depending on if they were to get to that bronze medal game, that game could mean a lot more for Slovakia than it does for whoever is the feels like that's it's a loss to get to the bronze medal game for them. The thing that he brought up that was interesting to me and like, I wonder if we're. Because I, I totally agree with you and he kind of agreed with us also that it seems like Canada's so far ahead of the U.S. yeah. What if Canada's just better at this type of hockey which with respect to all the countries that Canada and the US have beat, they're kind of can crushing right now, right? Like they, like they're beating up on teams that they should be beating up on. What if this Canadian team and the way they're constructed with the speed and the skill, what if they're just better than the US at embarrassing bad teams? And, and what if. And like, remember when we were talking about the way Garen constructed this team? It wasn't really constructed to put up a bunch of goals against inferior opposition. It was more so built to win a tight, like close, tight checking game. So maybe. And like I feel like this has been a very pro Canada anti US podcast so far. I, I do think I want to leave a little bit of a window open for the fact that maybe this Canadian team is really good. But maybe, maybe it's just this specific type of hockey we've seen through group stage that's making us elevate them to a level that like in comparison to the US that maybe we shouldn't be.

[Jesse Granger]

I think it's a very good point and I think when you look at how the US Wants to play these games, it is a lot of taking your time away and capitalizing when they get a chance. Like, I don't think that Team Canada is going to get nearly the number of odd man rushes against the United States that they've been able to create against some of the other teams. Granted, it's True for the US Too. Like Jack Hughes, I think has been one of the breakout stories of the tournament for the United States, partly because he is so good in puck possession. By the time those Canada games roll around, I don't know that there's going to be as much time for puck possession. But certainly you're encouraged by what you've seen from Jack Hughes. You're going to need guys like that to, to create those, to even get to the Canada game. But by the time you get to that game, I think you're onto something there. I think that that's why you build the team or they, they did build the team. That the way that they did is because they don't want to try to trade chances with Canada. They, they know that if you just go the 12 most skilled versus the 12 most skilled, Canada's got the edge. But if you change the nature of the game, and I think Canada did very well to add Tom Wilson to this mix as a little bit of a counterpunch to the Chucks. But I think you could change the nature of the game a little bit into more your style. This is for us to win, it's going to have to be a first to three wins kind of game for sure.

[Max Boltman]

And we talked about getting goalied and we obviously we kind of think of like the smaller nations that their goalie can stand on his head. But Connor Hellebuck could goalie Canada like that. We didn't really even talk about that. Like he is, he is the best goalie in the world. I mean he's the three time Vezina winner, the reigning Heart Trophy champion. Like he could be the one that goalies them. We haven't seen Conor Hellebuk do that on a big stage, whether it be four nations, whether it be the playoffs. But people like the stories about players not being good in the postseason. It only lasts until they have that great postseason. And maybe this is that moment for Connor Hellebock. So the US can absolutely win. That can absolutely win gold. It's just they're going to have to be better than they've been because I agree with Mark. They've been winning these games by a bunch of goals. But it doesn't look like they're on a different. Like when Canada's playing, it looks like they're playing a different sport sport than the other team. And it hasn't looked like that in the US Games. It looks like they've been marginally better consistently enough to win their games comfortably.

[Jesse Granger]

I think the thing they're going to have to battle is how do you stay present knowing that this is all setting up for this now.

[Max Boltman]

Right.

[Jesse Granger]

And they've done, I think, a pretty good job of it so far of playing the team in front of them. Maybe that first period against Denmark, you can kind of question where their heads somewhere else. Although some of that is just some, some fluky goals that I don't think Jeremy Swayman lets up. If you gave him a hundred of those, you're not going to see another one of those floaters from the neutral zone go in on him. But it wasn't a strong game for him. And maybe some focus, maybe it's just some bad luck. Who knows? When you see Sweden, though, you're not going to be able to afford something like that. I know the Swedes have not had a very good tournament so far. I think the Finland game was. Was rough and even their last game against Slovakia, like, you get a late penalty and then that kind of costs you the group. I don't know that it was necessarily a convincing win even before that. And I thought the Finland game was the most concerning for them. And obviously it's, it's the one that ultimately most shapes the way that, you know, the, the bracket is going to form here where we expected Sweden to be winning that group and firmly in the three seat. And now, you know, suddenly they're going to see the US in the quarters. It's some of the things we talked about in the preview, though, like ultimately, like, Lucas Raymond's had a good tournament, he's got five points. It is a question of where are your game breakers offensively for Sweden as well as. And this is a Maya Culpa. I said I thought Philip Gustafson could be the best goalie in the tournament by the end of it. That has not been the case so far at all.

[Max Boltman]

No, it hasn't. And, and it's like he's going to need to be the guy like you, you mentioned it. If, if Sweden can make a run, it's going to have to be with Gustafson being awesome. Because I don't see this, this team, their forwards aren't nearly on the level that Canada or the US Are.

[Mark Lazarus]

Their.

[Max Boltman]

Their blue line is good, but they don't have those game breaking like we're going to outscore you guys up front. I think if they're going to. And, and, and what Mark said about the US being an unfinished product, that's what I feel about Sweden. I feel like they've got the talent, but they're just not playing. Playing all that well together and like it's not allowing the talent that they do have to shine as much as you'd expect. Gustafson could change things. He's. He's having a very good year in Minnesota. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he comes in and has a phenomenal game against America. If, if assuming they win their quarter or sorry their. Their first round matchup in the quarters, that would. I. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he's great against the US but that's what it's going to take.

[Jesse Granger]

Here's an interesting comment from the chat here. Blue JM says Canada has an easy matchup against Denmark or Czechia. Are we calling Czechia an easy matchup here? Because I think from the very beginning we have talked about one of the big risks is that the idea that Lucas Dostal goalie somebody in the quarterfinal.

[Max Boltman]

It's. They've been so disappointing. You. You won't find someone higher on Czechia going into the tournament than me. After watching them play three games, I've lost a little bit of faith. I. The. The depth is a bigger problem than I expected it to be. Like, yes, that first line when Neches and Posternach and when they're out there, they're dangerous. When they aren't out there, it just feels like they've got nothing. Like they're. They. They're so unthreatening as a team. When those guys aren't on the ice, it's. The depth is a bigger concern than I thought it was going to be going into this tournament for me, for Czechia. Now, like you said, Luca Sto. Stahl is amazing. He can goalie someone at any point. But the, the overall team is very disappointing for the expectations I had and I think a lot of people had going into this tournament and I think.

[Jesse Granger]

You know Czechia, you have the scoring, but it's a question of can you play the way that the Finlands have so far in a way that when you get a lead you can kind of smother the game. I don't know that I've seen that from them yet. It's not that I don't think they can score two or three goals to win. It's. I don't know that I can see them keeping Canada under four, under five, barring do stall having a 40 save effort for sure.

[Max Boltman]

And that's what happens when you have two NHL defensemen. Right. Like they just aren't as talented on the blue line. Like, Finland's not quite up there with the U.S. and Canada, but they've got a lot more NHL talent on the blue line than a team like Czechia does.

[Jesse Granger]

How about Finland? Because I think they're always the team that gets ignored, and yet they're always the team that's there in the end. Whether it is literally meddling, whether it is upsetting somebody like Finland's a team as the foresee that I think is maybe the bronze favorite at this point.

[Max Boltman]

I would, too, if we were. If we were making metal predictions right now, I think I'd take Finland for bronze. They. They found it. They got that win over Sweden. Like, that's almost bigger than a medal for them, right? Like, if you. If you told them going in like, hey, you'll beat Sweden, but you won't medal, they'd probably be like, all right, we'll take. We want the win over Sweden. Like that. That's everything. Like, they. So I think that got them going. They had that rough start. There couldn't have been a better second game for Finland to turn things around. You lose that game to Slovakia. At the time, we, like, we didn't know Slovakia was as good as they are now. At the time, it was like, oh, my gosh. Like, is Finland broken? Like, what's wrong with Finland to have Sweden be the very next game and get that win over them? And you just feel great about yourself. Like, this team, they've. They've turned things around. And I agree with you. They're probably the favorite to win bronze.

[Jesse Granger]

It'll be very interesting. All right, individual player thoughts here. I mean, we've. We've talked through some of the teams. Any players really raise their stock for you through pool play? Any. Anyone put themselves on your radar that you were not expecting to be viewing in this light?

[Max Boltman]

Slavkovsky is the obvious one. I mean, the kid is just built for this. Like, when he puts on that jersey, he's a different player. He's. He's right up there with all the Canadian players in terms of points, and he's on a team that isn't scor 10 goals a game. So it's pretty impressive. And then the other one is. And, like, this is another obvious one. But like Macklin Celebrini, I thought this was going to be a. He's going to be along for the ride type of thing. Like. Like, he. He's not going to be a bad player, but he's going to be kind of in the background and, like, he has been in the forefront he has been a major reason why Canada has looked so dominant. It's pretty wild considering the age how, just how amazing he's been. What about you? Do you. Is anyone stuck out to you?

[Jesse Granger]

Yeah, I mean, we were talking about the Swiss earlier as one of the stories. It's like J.J. moser on that back end. And I certainly went into this tournament thinking it from the back end. It's driven by Roman Yossi and he's been very good as well. But I think Moser has really shown that, you know, that the role he's been able to play in the NHL for Tampa Bay, that's not just a product of being in a big role. He's doing this against top teams. You know, Checky is one of like we talked about one of the teams coming to this room we thought would be a metal favorite. Like Moser has found a way to be a do it all guy for them. And I think he's elevated to a. Certainly he's always been a top four, but I think you can call him a, with a bullet, top pair guy at this point.

[Max Boltman]

Yeah, Timo Meyer has been great for Switzerland too. And that's not like we know Timo Meyer is great, but he, he's been one of the standout players in the tournament. And then another guy, like when I was, we were talking about Czechia and I mentioned like how good their top line is. The guy I didn't even mention is Martin Naches and he's probably been their best player in this tournament, even better than Posternach. So yeah, it's, it's, it's not really any like small name players. These are big name guys, but they've been showing up maybe more than I expected him to.

[Jesse Granger]

Well, I think it's relevant because we always talk about who can get it done in the playoffs. And I think Olympic hockey, it's, it's not quite the same as playoff NHL hockey, but it's certainly at a higher level than NHL regular season hockey in, in most cases. And so I think it's relevant. Like, and I, I think about that with Tim Stutzler too. It's not like we're under any illusions that Tim Stutzla is not an elite player, but when you see him tied for this tournament lead and scoring through pool play, you go, okay, he's at that level, right? Like he's, he's right up there with the best scorers in this tournament. And again to your point, right there with Macklin Celebrini, which it's, it's pretty amazing what he's been able to do as a 19 year old. So any, I mean prediction changes like I think we're both on Finland now. MVP. I think it's gotta be McDavid with a bullet. But you know, the, the knockout round's gonna decide a lot of that.

[Max Boltman]

Yeah, it's if, if the US were to. Because, because Auston Matthews was having a bad tournament. I mean Mark even said he wrote a column questioning the captaincy. I've been questioning he had a much better game today. He's now all of a sudden the leader in the clubhouse for the US in terms of I think points and goals. But if I were to pick an MVP right now, if you told me the US Is going to win the gold, who's the mvp? To me, Jack Eichel would be my answer. He's been the best player on the team. I think he's the best American forward. Which a couple years ago if you would have said that that would have been a shocking statement. Now I think it's a little. We've kind of gotten used to Jack Eichel being one of the elites. But who would like. Who do you think is the most valuable player for America? And maybe Hellebuck ends up being that guy if he's the one that is the reason they win. But like if you were to, if I were to tell you right now the US does win the gold, who is the mvp? Because it's a more interesting conversation I think than it is for Canada who's McDavid's just lighting it up.

[Jesse Granger]

The one thing we've all talked about when we've talked about the US And Canada is that the US Is blue line we still like a little better. And I think Quinn Hughes is probably the guy if the US is going to win this and you notice it. Drance made this point on Twitter and I thought it was an excellent point that Quinn uses one of the very few defensemen who drives play at the level of a center. Like he just in transition in takeaways and creating offense and I've noticed him every single game significantly and that's without even having a goal. Although he did have one wiped off the board. I think it was in that Latvia first period. I've noticed him every game every period. I think if the US is going to do this, he's probably the guy who I'm looking at as the driving force in a diff in addition to obviously you need to Conor Holiday to be very good. But I think for What Quinn Hughes can do, driving play for what he can do, setting up on the power play, what he can do in transition. He's probably my answer for USA's best player and most valuable player.

[Max Boltman]

Yeah, Warrensky is another one on the blue line that like he, he had a goal today. Sanderson, phenomenal. Yeah, they, I mean we, we've talked up their blue line basically since before the tournament. They're, they're stacked and, and today was their best game, the blue line, like in terms of activating not just the points, but it seemed like when the US had the puck and sustained zone time, those guys were diving into the slot and really being aggressive and it makes a big difference for him.

[Jesse Granger]

The one other thing I want to talk about, and this is more NHL than tournament related, but it's always a factor when we talk about NHL players going to the Olympics and that's injuries. And Kevin Fiala is the big one out for the season with it with a freak injury. I don't think that there's any intent to injure on that play. He kind of gets tangled up with Tom Wilson goes down and it's a huge loss for an LA team that's been pretty aggressive here. And they go, they add our Tempi Panarin. Obviously that's a sign that they're gearing up to make a push for it. And down goes one of their current most dynamic wingers.

[Max Boltman]

Absolutely brutal for a team that can't score. Right. Like that's the King's problem. The reason they went and traded for our team, Panera is because they haven't been able to score. And you know, going through the Pacific like you're going to have to go through Edmonton or Vegas or both teams that can absolutely score. You add Panarin and now you lose Fiala, which to me is like their best pure scorer on the team. Before adding Panarin it now Panarin is a better player than Fiala, but it feels like, man, that that bump you felt like you were going to get from Panarin just got a lot smaller. Losing Fiala there, it's absolutely brutal. Like that team, that was a player that that team could not afford to lose.

[Jesse Granger]

Absolutely. We do have one bold prediction in the comments here from Whiskey and Wings. Do we want to put that up on the board? Pasta hat trick sends Canada home. Very bold. It's a 10 on the bowl scale. Not the David Pastern. I can't score a hat trick, but that he's going to do it. And check he is going to eliminate Canada. That's a probably about what it would take for Czechia to pull off that upset.

[Max Boltman]

Jesse I think that's how many goals Canada has allowed in the Olympics is three right now. So so Pasta is going to double their goal allowed total just on his own. It would be fun. I sign me up. But yeah, 10 to 10 on the Bold scale.

[Jesse Granger]

We'll give you your flowers if you nail that one. Whiskey and wings. That is going to do it for us in this live stream. Thank you guys for joining us. Just a reminder, we're going to be going live every day through the end of the women's and men's tournaments next Sunday. Make sure you're subscribed on [e-mail] at the Athletic Hockey Show. Obviously you can listen wherever you get your podcasts as usual. Thanks for listening. We'll talk to you soon.

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Right?

[Max Boltman]

So we shouldn't get the parachute pants. These are making a comeback, I think.

[Jesse Granger]

Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.

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