The Olympics are a month away — here's some stuff to get excited about

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The Winter Olympics in northern Italy officially open on Feb. 6, and competition begins on Feb. 4 — just 29 days from now. Here are a few things Canadians fans can look forward to:

Hockey: NHL stars and Canada-U.S. battles 

To be honest, the last two Winter Olympics just weren't the same without NHL players. But the world's best (minus the Russians) are back for the first time since 2014, and it'll be great to see superstars like Canada's Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, Americans Auston Matthews and Quinn Hughes and Germany's Leon Draisaitl representing their country in the Olympics for the first time while Canadian captain Sidney Crosby goes for his third gold medal.

With Russia banned from all team events and other traditional European hockey powers like Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic not looking as strong these days, it's shaping up as another showdown between Canada and the United States for the gold. We got a taste at last year's unexpectedly electric 4 Nations Face-Off, where the cross-border rivals dropped the gloves three times in the first nine seconds of their round-robin matchup in Montreal and McDavid delivered Canada the title with his overtime goal to end a thrilling final in Boston.

Hockey Canada unveils its Olympic roster for the 2026 Winter Games

It'll also be great to talk about actual hockey instead of construction and geometry. The NHL and its players have signed off on the slightly smaller ice surface at the new arena in Milan and, while the building clearly won't be finished in time for the Games, organizers promise it'll be