Smaller ice in Olympic hockey rinks won’t impact safety or game play, IOC says

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Today, officials are holding a news conference to discuss the Olympic hockey rink in Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics in February.

The rinks have been beset by delays and issues related to its size. The rinks are smaller than NHL regulation’s 200-by-85 foot dimensions (61 by 26 metres), prompting some eyebrow-raising, mainly because there has been no explanation for the divergence.

The Milan rink’s dimensions are 196.85 feet (60 metres) long by 85.3 feet wide, so slightly wider and more than three feet shorter.

The size corresponds to one of International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) standard sizes and the governing body approved the Milan rinks, though they are unusual and will mean that NHL players competing on Olympic teams will have to prepare for the change.

The IIHF used the NHL dimensions at the Olympics beginning in 2018, and again in 2022. The 2026 Games in February mark the first time NHL players will be at the Olympics since 2014 in Sochi.

The Milan rink dimensions were also used by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators for two games in Stockholm in November.