Who will Canada play next in hockey? Explaining 2026 Olympic bracket opponent for quarterfinals

After a dominant run through Group A, Team Canada has officially secured its spot in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. By finishing as the No. 1 overall seed, Canada has earned a critical first-round bye, allowing them to bypass the qualification playoffs and head straight into the final eight.

The preliminary round finale was a sheer display of power as Team Canada dismantled France with a 10-2 win on Sunday. Captain Sidney Crosby made history by becoming Canada's all-time leading scorer in Olympic play featuring NHL players, while Connor McDavid took over the tournament scoring lead with a clinical performance. With a roster featuring Nathan MacKinnon, Macklin Celebrini and Cale Makar, the Canadians outscored their opponents 20-3 across three games, proving why they are the favorites to reclaim the gold.

While Canada enjoyed a smooth path through the group stage, the intensity is about to ramp up significantly. With the NHL back on the Olympic stage for the first time since 2014, the margin for error has vanished, and the Canadians know that the single-elimination format on Wednesday leaves no room for a slow start. For a nation that views hockey as its heartbeat, Milan represents the first opportunity in over a decade to see their greatest generational stars compete for gold together.

The road to the podium is clearly defined. If the seeds hold, a potential collision course with Team USA looms in the gold medal game, a matchup that hockey fans have been salivating over since the NHL's participation was confirmed. For Sidney Crosby, who famously scored the "Golden Goal" in 2010, this tournament is about more than a medal—it's about leading a new era of Canadian excellence back to the top of the world.

Here's who Team Canada plays next.

MORE 2026 OLYMPICS: Live medal tracker | Viewer's guide | Day-by-day schedule

Olympic hockey bracket 2026

The men's preliminary round has concluded in Milan, and the bracket is now set for the knockout stages. Canada, the United States, Slovakia, and Finland have secured the top four seeds and will receive a bye directly to the quarterfinals.

The remaining eight teams will compete in a qualification playoff on Tuesday to determine who fills the final four spots in the quest for gold.

The following teams have earned a direct path to the quarterfinals on Wednesday:

1. Canada (Group A Winner)

2. United States (Group C Winner)

3. Slovakia (Group B Winner)

4. Finland (Best Second-Place Team)

The qualification playoffs occur on Tuesday.

MORE: Day-by-day TV, streaming schedule for 2026 Winter Olympics

Who will Canada play next in hockey?

Canada will play the winner of Denmark vs. Czechia.

The Canadians enter the quarterfinal as the No. 1 seed after going 3-0-0 to go on top of Group A. Because of goal differential, boosted by a 10-2 win over France, Canada clinched the top seed over Team USA, who also went undefeated in their group.

Canada already faced Czechia in their opening game of the tournament, winning 5-0, but they must wait for the result of the Tuesday matchup to see if a rematch is on the horizon for Wednesday at 10:40 a.m. ET.

Both Czechia and Denmark lost twice in the preliminary rounds, and now, the winner of this game will face the Canadian juggernaut.

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How does the Olympic hockey bracket work?

The 2026 Olympic men's hockey tournament features 12 nations split into three groups of four for the opening round-robin phase.

The three group winners and the highest-ranked second-place finisher earn an automatic bye into the quarterfinals. The remaining eight teams are seeded 5th through 12th for a single-elimination qualification playoff, where the winners advance to join the top seeds in the final eight.

To ensure the most competitive matchups later in the tournament, the IIHF re-seeds the four semifinalists based on their original preliminary round rankings, pitting the highest remaining seed against the lowest for a spot in the gold medal game.

MORE: USA men's hockey schedule

Olympic hockey schedule 2026

Feb. 17: Men's Qualification Playoffs

Feb. 18: Men's Quarterfinals

Feb. 19: Women's Medal Games

Feb. 20: Men's Semifinals

Feb. 21: Men's Bronze Medal Game

Feb. 22: Men's Gold Medal Game