Wild general manager Bill Guerin will serve as Team USA general manager for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.
The news from USA Hockey comes after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced last weekend that NHL players will play in the 2026 Winter Olympics. It will mark the first time since the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi that NHL players compete in the international spectacle.
“It’s always been an honor for me to represent my country,” said Guerin, a three-time Olympian as a player, who credited the Miracle On Ice at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid as an instrumental moment for him. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I’m really looking forward to working with everybody.”
The decision to name Guerin made sense considering he initially was slated to serve in this role at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. He never got the chance, though, as the NHL withdrew due to COVID concerns. That played a part in him being chosen once again this time around.
“We’re excited to have Bill leading efforts to build our teams,” USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher said in a release. “He was obviously an extraordinary player and has gone on to become an accomplished executive.”
There are still a lot things up in the air for Guerin with not much set in stone at the moment. He still has to add to the front office. He still has to finalize a coaching staff. He still has to select a roster. All of those things will come into focus at a later date with a clear goal in mind.
“We don’t just go to these tournaments to participate,” Guerin said. “We go in to win.”
Additionally, Guerin will serve as Team USA general manager for the newly minted NHL 4 Nations Face Off. That competition will take place next February and will feature NHL players from the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden. Think of it as a precursor to the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“With the NHL asking the competing teams to name their first six players for the NHL 4 Nations Face Off early this summer, it was important for us to name a general manager, and we couldn’t be happier to have Bill engaged for both that event and the Olympics,” USA hockey assistant executive director of hockey operations John Vanbiesbrouck said in a release. “He brings the same level of competitiveness to his role as a general manager as he did as a player on the ice, and that’s a real benefit.”
The player pool for Team USA has never been deeper than it is right now. The U.S features dozens of star players, including Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel, Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes and New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, among others.
“There’s such high-end talent out there that we’ve never seen before,” Guerin said. “We have skilled centers. We have shutdown defensemen. We have abrasive wingers. We have 100-point guys. We have good role players. There’s so much to choose from.”
If Guerin can put together a team of players who mesh on the ice, the sky could be the limit.
“I just don’t see why we shouldn’t be thinking gold medals,” Guerin said. “I think USA Hockey has developed into a program where that’s what we do.”
