By any standard, Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski is living his dream. Hailing from Gross Point, Mich., and having played college hockey at the University of Michigan, this 10-year NHL veteran is one of the many success stories in American sports. In 2021, he secured a six-year, $57.5 million contract extension with the Blue Jackets, ranking him among the highest-paid defensemen in professional hockey. Furthermore, he married last summer, and he and his wife, Odette, are preparing for the months ahead.

Despite his hectic schedule, particularly during the NHL season, and the many demands on his limited free time, Werenski still made time to watch the new Netflix documentary released in late January. This was before he traveled to Italy with his American teammates to represent the United States in the Olympic hockey tournament. Werenski notes that he prefers this nonfiction account to Miracle, the popular 2004 Disney movie based on the true story of the legendary 1980 American Olympic hockey team that upset the Soviet Union in Lake Placid, N.Y., to win an underdog gold medal.

Werenski is fully conscious that it has been 46 years since an American men’s hockey team last won gold. Consequently, he felt compelled to immerse himself in the narrative of that famous victory to help the U.S. write a new chapter in Olympic hockey history. “It definitely motivated me a little more,” Werenski says. “We’re aware of what’s at stake.”

The 2026 Games mark the first time in twelve years that the tournament has featured NHL players, making it a best-on-best competition comparable to the World Cup of Hockey or World Cup soccer. With a 6-2 win over Slovakia in the Olympic semifinal in Milan, the American team has officially secured a spot on the podium—and a chance at that historic gold.

As the American men’s hockey players left the ice following their semifinal victory on Friday, there was little desire to dissect what turned out to be a routine win. Instead, their focus was already on Sunday, when the U.S. will face Canada in an all-North American border war for the Olympic final. This match is also a rematch of the 4 Nations Face-Off final from a year ago, where Canadian star Connor McDavid broke American hearts with an overtime goal. The United States had previously defeated Canada, 3-1, in Montreal during round robin play.    

The matchup that everyone hoped for entering this tournament is now set to occur. It will serve as the finale for the Milano Cortina Games, and if history is any guide, it could be a legendary conclusion to a successful Olympics.

The possibility of winning the first American men’s hockey gold medal on foreign soil—Team USA also won gold at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, Calif.—has millionaire professionals reminiscing about simpler times. “It’s going to be a real special moment to just have an opportunity to achieve your childhood dream,” says an American player for the Ottawa Senators. “There’s nothing better than that.”

Both teams are well-acquainted from last year’s event, and the players know each other’s tendencies from their NHL experience. The last time these two teams met in an Olympic final was in 2010 in Vancouver, where Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal gave the host nation an unforgettable victory. That game remains the most-watched broadcast in Canadian television history. Canada also won the last Olympic tournament to feature best-on-best hockey in 2014 in Sochi and, thanks to McDavid’s recent heroics, are the defending 4 Nations Face-Off champions. Expectations are high in a country where hockey is a national pastime, passion, and obsession combined.

The U.S. team would be wise to simply enjoy the moment. “I’m just going to do the same thing that we usually do,” says Tkachuk. “Eat pasta, hang out, just relax. If you overthink it, you’re just going to miss the fun.” 

However, this is not 1980. The United States is not fielding a group of college kids against the world’s best. An American victory would not stun the universe as it did nearly half a century ago. 

It would, nevertheless, evoke memories of a special time when, in at least one pursuit, the country embodied the underdog spirit. The entire nation felt it. Can the U.S. capture that magic once more? 

We will find out soon: Sunday, at 2:10 p.m. Milan time. “Chills,” says U.S. forward Dylan Larkin, describing his feelings as he envisions the potential outcome. “Maybe we wouldn’t even realize the impact it would have. The way this tournament has gone, and how everyone has seemed to want the U.S.-Canada final, hopefully it’s really building some tension. And people are as excited about Sunday as we are.”