Short rinks cut no ice with NHL players, including McDavid

TORONTO, Dec 15 : Canadian standout Connor McDavid and a number of his NHL peers are not concerned that the ice rinks for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics will be smaller than what they are used to playing on.

When NHL players mark their return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014, they will do so on sheets of ice that are more than three feet shorter than the NHL's standard layout and slightly wider.

Given the high speed and intensity of the game, the smaller playing surfaces sparked safety concerns but McDavid, considered the greatest player on the planet, is unfazed.

"I don't care," McDavid, who was one of six players named to Canada's preliminary Olympic roster in June, told reporters in Toronto for a recent NHL game. "Not a big deal. Obviously, you want the ice to be good, you'd like the ice quality to be good. The size of it doesn't matter."

'WE'LL PLAY ANYWHERE'

The International Ice Hockey Federation said in a statement last week that the differences in rink specifications are "insignificant" and should not impact either the safety or quality of game play.

The IIHF also said the ice surfaces match the size used at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and are consistent with the dimensions the NHL requires as part of its Global Series Game arena specifications.

Auston Matthews, who has secured a spot on Team USA, said he did not notice a difference when he played on a smaller rink in Sweden two years ago as part of the NHL Global Series.

"Obviously, you want the conditions to be as similar to NHL as possible and the ice conditions to be as good as possible," Matthews  told Reuters. "But in the end I don't think anybody really cares (about the size).

"We'll play anywhere. It's just the honor of being able to compete in the