Canadian women’s hockey team to play in Italy’s Santagiulia too; they’re not worried

Canada forward Marie-Philip Poulin, right, is defended by United States forward Kelly Pannek (12) during the first period of a Rivalry Series women's hockey game, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus) (Adrian Kraus)

EDMONTON — Recent NHL drama over Milan’s main hockey arena for the Winter Olympics in Italy had the Canadian women’s hockey team shrugging its collective shoulder.

Players who cleared COVID-19 hurdles in Beijing to win gold in 2022, and won a women’s world championship later that year on even stranger ice dimensions than Milan’s, see the 2026 Winter Olympics as just another exercise in adaptation.

NHL players return to the Olympic Games for the first time since 2014. The men are scheduled to play up to three games a day at the new 16,000-seat Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, which was still a construction site and won’t host a test event until Jan. 9-11.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman used “disappointment” on Wednesday to describe the arena preparation pace. His deputy commissioner, Bill Daly added in Winnipeg, “if the ice isn’t ready and it’s not safe, then we’re not going.”

But the women are scheduled to play in Santagiulia first with host Italy facing France on Feb. 5. The men’s hockey tournament starts Feb. 11.

Defending Olympic champion Canada will play as many as three of seven games in beleaguered Santagiulia, including a pool game against the United States on Feb. 10, plus a semifinal and the final.

Canada’s other games will be in the secondary Milano Rho Arena, which is hosting the world junior men’s Division 1 Group B championship this week as a test event.

Ready for anything in Milan was Canada’s theme Wednesday ahead of a Rivalry Series game at night against the United States in Edmonton.

“We’re going to make the most of it and embrace it,” Canadian head coach Troy Ryan said. “I have absolutely no influence in the situation, so why get caught up in it?

“I also understand the concerns that the NHL would have in sending their players. That’s for them to talk on.”

While ice quality remained a concern around NHL participation Wednesday, Bettman and Daly seemed more reconciled to the Santagiulia surface that’s almost a metre shorter in length than the NHL’s standard 60 by 26 (200 by 85 feet).

“Haven’t heard a lot about the quality of ice. I’ve heard some talk about the dimensions,” Ryan said.

“If it’s different than the NHL standard ice or PWHL standard ice, where are the dimensions changed? Is it behind the goal, is it in the offensive zone, defensive zone, is it shorter in the neutral zone? There’s some of the things that you think about from a coach perspective, but don’t get caught up in it too much.”

Canada won the 2022 women’s world championship on an ice surface that was two metres (six feet) shorter in length, but also two metres wider, than North American standards in Herning, Denmark.

“I remember us all being like, ‘holy, the neutral zone is really short,’” said Canadian defender Renata Fast. “The first practice, you just feel it out and then as the tournament goes on, you figure out how to play within that ice surface.

“It might change your strategy a little bit, but the best teams adapt.”

Fast also recalled the low roof on Herning’s Kvik Hockey Arena made her think twice about how high to lift the puck to clear it.

“Rinks in Europe are always different than the rinks in North America,” Fast said. “Would it have been great for it to be a standard NHL size that we’re used to and comfortable with? Sure. We’ll be ready for whatever the size is and you just adjust and you adapt.”

A consideration for women’s hockey consideration — especially with the shorter Santagiulia ice surface — that didn’t exist four years ago is the International Ice Hockey Federation following the Professional Women’s Hockey League in allowing body checking in pursuit of the puck.

“The smaller you make the rink, the less time and space there is so I think it will make for a faster game and potentially a more physical game, but I don’t know what three feet will look like until I get there,” Fast said.

The Canadian women weathered many a COVID-19 restriction heading into, and during, Beijing’s Games.

A surprise one was donning masks to play a game. COVID tests taken from opposition Russia were late in processing, so after a delay of over an hour after warm-up, both teams played wearing KN95 masks in a 6-1 win by Canada.

“With the last Olympics, I think we can go through anything,” Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin said. “There’s a big core group that’s been there, and we do talk about it to the young ones, that anything can happen, and honestly, it’s what you set your mind to that that’s going to make you ready.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2025.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press