The construction on the main arena where the Milan-Cortina Games are expected to host hockey in a few short months is not completed, raising concerns about whether the NHL will be able to send its players to the Olympics for the first time since 2014.
In an interview with Daily Faceoff, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly was asked what percentage the NHL players have of actually not going to the Olympics.
“Depends on the percentage you want to place on the possibility the rink doesn’t get completed,” Daly told the outlet. “If there’s no rink completed, there’s no NHL players going to the Olympics.”
There’s nothing to indicate the league won’t send players come February, according to ESPN, despite the ice reportedly being three feet shorter than the NHL’s usual 200-foot-by-85-foot dimensions.
The Athletic reported the IIHF approved a 196.85-foot by 85.3 ice sheet for Milan.
Despite the rink being shorter, a player who’s already been named to an Olympic team told ESPN he doesn’t believe the ice being shorter will impact the game as much as many may think.
“With the talent level there’s already going to be no time and space,” the player told ESPN. “The games are going to be incredible no matter what. Just give us a sheet of ice we’ll be good.”
The men’s hockey tournament is set to begin Feb. 11.
