For the first time in 12 years, NHL players are participating in the Winter Olympics. The men’s hockey tournament began on Wednesday and will continue until the gold medal game on Feb. 22. Three players from the Edmonton Oilers are competing in Milano, Cortina, Italy, including Connor McDavid of Canada and Germans Leon Draisaitl and Joshua Samanksi.
Related: Guide to the 2026 Winter Olympics Men’s Hockey Tournament
NHLers competed in the Olympics in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014. Over those five Winter Games, more than 20 Oilers represented their country on sport’s greatest stage, but only eight have won a medal. Here’s a look:
Oilers Gold Medalists
The only Oilers to stand atop the Olympic podium are defenceman Eric Brewer and Ryan Smyth, who won gold as members of Team Canada at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Canada’s men’s team got off to a slow start in 2002, finishing the round robin with a 1-1-1 record, including a blowout loss to Team Sweden. They improved as the tournament wore on, and ultimately defeated the host Americans 5-2 in the gold medal final. It was a historic victory for the Canadian men’s team, who had waited 50 years to win Olympic gold.
Smyth’s place on Team Canada was no surprise. After all, the Banff, Alberta, native was known as “Captain Canada,” and competed in the Olympics again four years later, when Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Russia in the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. He was relatively quiet at the Salt Lake City Games, however, picking up just one point over six games.
Brewer, on the other hand, was one of the most unlikely NHLers to be named to Team Canada, but the Vernon, BC, product had a great tournament in 2002, tying for the lead in goals among defensemen with two, including the game-winner in Canada’s semi-final victory over Belarus.
Oilers Silver Medalists
Four Oilers have captured silver at the Winter Games, including three at the very first Olympics to feature NHL players in 1998. Andrei Kovalenko, Boris Mironov and Valeri Zelepukin were all members of Team Russia, finishing with silver at the Nagano Winter Games after falling 1-0 to the Czech Republic in an all-time classic gold-medal game.
Kovalenko came up huge for his country in 1998, scoring four goals, including back-to-back game-winning goals in the quarterfinal and semi-final rounds. Zelepukin notched three points over six games, while Mironov recorded two points and amassed a plus-minus rating of plus-7, ranked fourth among defencemen in the tournament.
The other Oiler to win silver is Tom Poti. The blueliner from Worcester, Massachusetts, was part of Team USA in 2002 and lost the gold medal to Team Canada. Poti recorded one assist over six games in Salt Lake City.
Oilers Bronze Medalists
At the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Ales Hemsky and Jaroslav Spacek helped their native Czech Republic take their spot on the podium in men’s hockey. After losing its semi-final match to the eventual gold medalists from Sweden, the Czech Republic regrouped to shut out Russia 3-0 in the bronze medal game.
Winger Hemsky and defenceman Spacek played in all eight of the Czech Republic’s games. Hemsky notched a goal and two assists, while Spacek recorded one point. On their return to Edmonton, the Czech pair helped the Oilers make a Cinderella run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Final.
Will McDavid and/or Draisaitl and Samanski join the ranks of Oilers Olympic medalists? Once the Winter Games wrap up, all Oilers fans, regardless of their nationality, will be hoping for another Edmonton run to the Stanley Cup Final.
