Previewing Milano Cortina 2026: Canada’s Para ice hockey team on the prowl for gold

OTTAWA – At the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, Canada’s Para ice hockey team will aim to accomplish what its sports cousins at the Olympic Games could not achieve: win the gold medal. Its top opponent appears to be, as was the case for the Canadian Olympic men’s and women’s teams, the USA.

Canada will ice a veteran squad with 10 of the 17 members from the 2022 team that won silver. They include scoring stars Greg Westlake and Tyler McGregor, defensive stalwarts Tyrone Henry and Rob Armstrong, and goaltender Adam Kingsmill.

The Americans have won the Paralympic title at the last four winter Games. Canada’s last gold was in 2006 at the Torino Games, also held in Italy. Westlake, Canada’s second all-time leading scorer, is the sole remaining player from that squad. Canada has reached the podium at the last three Games and beat the Americans for the world title in 2024.

“Anytime we play the U.S., it’s intense — it’s the best rivalry in our sport,’’ said McGregor, Canada’s team captain and also a co-captain of the Milano Cortina 2026 Canadian Paralympic Team.

Malik Jones, a veteran with the American squad, agrees with his rival.

‘’That rivalry with Canada continues to grow every year,’’ he told WGRZ-TV this past November. ‘’It gets more intense and as we lead up to the Paralympics. We don’t like Canada, they do a lot of crazy things on the ice.’’

The Americans are led by all-time leading scorer and still dominant Declan Farmer and defenceman Jack Wallace.

In the last U.S.-Canada confrontation before the Games, the Americans defeated Canada 2-1 at the annual Para Hockey Cup in Dawson Creek, B.C. In that game, and in fact, the entire tournament, Canada’s defensive play was particularly brilliant. In the final, they kept Farmer off the score sheet.

‘’Our forecheck is our bread and butter,’’ said McGregor. ‘’When we are strong on the forecheck, we are a relentless team. We create a lot of turnovers and scoring opportunities.’’

The Canadian team entered the 2025-26 season after a somewhat turbulent summer. Boris Rybalka was promoted to head coach while Westlake, an assistant coach since Beijing 2022, decided to come back to the playing line-up.

Rybalka is the winningest coach in Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) history: he holds the league record for most career wins with 683 victories.

McGregor says there’s no time at this point to delve into analysis on the changes.

‘’As athletes you have to show up and be ready to go regardless,’’ said McGregor, headed to his fourth Games. ‘’And the veterans need to make sure we set that standard. This kind of change in a Paralympic year can be a bit stressful but you’re so laser focused at this point that you are prepared.’’

However while everyone is predicting a Canada-U.S. final, two other countries are nibbling at their heels. China and Czechia have been embroiled in a battle for the bronze medals at the last three world championships.

China took third spot at the Beijing Games, but Czechia has claimed the bronze at the last three worlds, beating the Chinese each time. Plus, those countries are playing the perennial powerhouses tougher and tougher. No one should count their chickens before they hatch.

At the 2026 Games, Canada is in Group B alongside Czechia, Japan and Slovakia. The top team in each group from the preliminary round automatically moves to the semifinals, with the second- and third-place teams playing in the quarterfinals. Canada’s prelim schedule is as follows:   

March 7 – Canada vs. Slovakia (2:35 p.m. ET / 11:35 a.m. PT)  
March 9 – Canada vs. Japan (2:35 p.m. ET / 11:35 a.m. PT)  
March 10 – Canada vs. Czechia (11:05 a.m. ET / 8:05 a.m. PT)  

The semifinals will be played March 13, with the medal games on March 15.  

Group A is comprised of the U.S., China, Germany and Italy.