Before the puck drops for Team Canada at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, let’s look at one of the best rivalries in all of sports, Canada versus Team USA, men’s ice hockey style. This is one of the great geographic rivalries, that has flowed over into competition, and for our story here, hockey. Even though America greatly outnumbers Canada in total population, some 342 million to 41.5 million, Canada manages to maintain a slight edge in ice hockey total player registration statistics, 603,000 to 577,000. What is it they say, it isn’t the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. So join with us, as we chronicle through one of the greatest rivalries, ever.
The Canada-USA Rivalry in Hockey and its History at the Olympics
We must remember that hockey means more to the entire nation of Canada. Yes, we can quickly retort that, because it does depend where you live in the States. As a dead ringer, Minnesota, you know, the State of Hockey. Also, areas like Michigan and Massachusetts have long had a storied history in this great game. Perhaps the Frozen Four NCAA hockey tournament comes to mind. But what about the hockey rivalry at the Olympics?
Team USA and Canada have always had an epic rivalry. Focusing on the Olympics, Canada holds a 12-4-3 record all-time versus the USA. From 1920 to 1952, Canada dominated the rivalry, winning six gold and only once not, when they fell to the silver with Great Britain prevailing in 1936. During that same stretch, USA had four silvers and a bronze to its credit. Very impressive, in their own right.
USA was able to be very competitive, and the 1932 Lake Placid Olympics were an early example. They were one of the first teams to truly challenge Canada. The 2-2 tie in the final game of those Olympics was the first game Canada failed to win in Olympic ice hockey competition, ever.
If we go back to the 2002 Olympics from Salt Lake City, Utah, the final featured, Canada and USA. That win by Canada (5-2), was their first Olympic Gold Medal in men’s ice hockey, in 50 years. The fact they had beat the Americans on home soil only added to the story. This was Canada’s real first shot at revenge for 1996, as we shall detail later.
A Common Foe
Of course, it is always nice to recall the one enemy both had had, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. From 1963 until around 1984, the Russians of that time rarely lost in international competition. Through that stretch they won the World Hockey Championships 17 times, and the Olympics five times. If you dig, you see the cross over in between that stretch with the Canadian and Americans. The 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics and the 1980 (again) Lake Placid Olympics, and naturally, the 1972 Summit Series were all tremendous turning points for the game.
Somehow, the Canadians and Americans always had each other’s back. But when they have crossed paths, it is possible to inflict war on the worthy opponent. Ask Brandon Hagel and Matthew Tkachuk. That was a historic moment from the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. Even though it was a round-robin loss by the eventual champion Team Canada, the fights that ensued were a spectacle for the ages.
Of course, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, seem so much of the shift in generations. The Golden Goal featured Sidney Crosby receiving the down low play from Jarome Iginla to slip it past Ryan Miller. It was another historic chapter in the Canada-US showdown.
Let’s go here.
Even though Canada did prevail in both of 2010 and 2025, both championships decided in overtime. They could’ve gone either way, much to disbelief of many Canadian hockey diehards.
One of the great conflicts between the countries was the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. It is amazing that there has only ever been three World Cups (1996, 2004, 2016). They are a tournament like no other. However, just maybe, the great game that originates outdoors, would be lovely to play a final on the side of the Swiss Alps, one day. You know, the pinnacle of sport.
The 1996 World Cup, came down to a three-game final between Team USA and Team Canada. The beer was cold and the hits were ferocious.
And the fire power.
Of the top-28 NHL leading scorers of all time, seven played in the championship series. It is probably more fantastical, of who it didn’t include (among that top 28). Some notables that didn’t play, that were still in the NHL include Adam Oates (career-high 142 points in 1992-93), Mario Lemieux, who would go onto post 122 points in the upcoming 1996-97 season, Ray Bourque (the highest scoring defenceman of all time, and at the time, still yet to win the 2001 Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche), and we will round it off with the fifth all-time point scorer, Ron Francis, who had 119 points the previous season. Again, all not on Team Canada that year.
Credit Image: © David Bergman/Miami Herald/TNS/ZUMAPRESS.com
Team USA that year, was one of the deepest collections of star players, they had ever assembled. Led by the likes of Chris Chelios, Keith Tkachuk, or Canadian-born Brett Hull, the Americans were able to come close to Canada’s perceived greatness. After dropping the first game of that best of three final, not without some controversy, but the Americans stormed back. Even playing in the unfriendly confines of Montreal’s Bell Centre, they won the final two games to take the series and the tournament crown.
The Rivalry Goes Beyond Championships
The other angle of this great hockey rivalry, has been the closing of the gap in the world junior rivalry. Started back in 1996, the USA Hockey National Team Development Program has been a relevation. Canada has the most titles at 20 in the World Junior Championships. However, the Americans have come on strong. USA won their first World Juniors in 2004, and they have since won six more times. Over that time of winning those six, Canada has only claimed five titles.
The under-18 tournament is where the US NTDP has really paid dividends. From 2002 to 2017, US won it ten times. Canada is trying to turn the tide. They have claimed the last two titles.
Of course, the rivalry doesn’t end there. One contentious topic, is the dynamic between the CHL and NCAA. Honestly, they have handled it all with grace, ask any American who has played in the CHL, they appreciate its place in the hockey world.
Ultimately, this new dynamic will be good for the development of the game. The CHL will develop in the perfect feeder system for the collegiate level.
There are many ways to look at this rivalry. Yes, a Canadian team hasn’t won the Stanley Cup since 1993, when the Montreal Canadiens did it. But the argument always goes, look how many Canadians are on the cup-winning team. The one trophy to represent this idea, is the playoff most-valuable player, the Conn Smythe Trophy. The first winner was Jean Beliveau back in 1965. The first non-Canadian to win the award…Brian Leetch, in 1994 with the New York Rangers. Other countries have picked up wins since then, but not many (nine times).
Canada is still the birthplace of the great, frozen game. But the Americans have always supported hockey. They have grown this rivalry, to help transcend sport, and elevate friendships as a whole. If these teams do end up crossing path these Olympics, we can be sure for an historic matchup.
Main Photo Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images