After arriving in Milan and participating in his first Team USA Practice, Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews discussed his acclimation overseas, first impressions of the Olympic arena, and life in the Olympic village.
There has been so much build-up. What was it like to be on the ice with your teammates?
Matthews: Yeah, it is cool. It really hit you when you touched down in Milan, got to the Olympic village, unpacked everything, and settled in. It is nice to get out (for practice), get a sweat, and be with the guys. It is definitely really special when you settle in. It really hits you.
There has been so much talk about it in the build-up, so what did you think about the building and the ice?
Matthews: It looks good. It looks good from the outside, and it looks good from the inside. There have been a lot of teams practicing today, so it was chewed up pretty good, but the ice felt pretty good. It is never going to be perfect circumstances. The ice isn’t great in Toronto, either. You kind of live with it. I am sure it will get better and better throughout the tournament.
What was it like experiencing a practice with jet lag?
Matthews: Honestly, it is not bad. It is good to get out there, even if it is not the cleanest, crispest drills, passing, or execution. It is just to get out there and get a sweat, especially after the jet lag and travel. It helps you get settled into the time zone more quickly. I’ve made the trip overseas a lot, and the first couple of days are always the hardest. It is important to try to get regulated to this time as quickly as possible.
How did you pass the time on the flight?
Matthews: I pretty much slept the whole time. It wasn’t hard to get down. I was pretty tired. I woke up, and we were 30 minutes from touchdown.
What did you think of the athletes’ village?
Matthews: It’s great. It is pretty neat. I am rooming with Dylan Larkin, a guy I’ve known for a while and have a lot of history with. It’s pretty cool. It’s pretty tight quarters, but it is cool to be all together and get to experience things together as a team, whether it is going to the dining hall or whatever it may be. It is a pretty cool setup. Once you’ve kind of settled in, it hits you how special it is to be here.
USA lines (remember 13 forwards, 7 D dress)
B Tkachuk-Eichel-M Tkachuk
Guentzel-Matthews-Boldy
Connor-Larkin-Thompson
Miller-Nelson/Trocheck-J Hughes
KellerQ Hughes-McAvoy
Slavin-Faber
Hanifin-Werenski
Sanderson-Lacombe— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) February 9, 2026
h/t Mark Masters
Jon Cooper: “Marchy is going to go down as one of my favourites I’ve ever coached”
You were given the option of closed practices. What do you think of the opportunity to do it on Monday?
Cooper: Honestly, we didn’t yesterday when we were in the big arena, where everybody came in. The practice arena is tight. It had nothing to do with [secrecy]. It was just to make sure that with the team picture and everything going on, there were no distractions.
From a preparation standpoint, how much information were the players given before they arrived to develop an understanding, versus downloading it all upon arrival?
Cooper: It’s crazy. When you come here as coaches, you want to make sure all of the guys have all of the information possible. You are also trying not to interfere with the day job, and that is the NHL.
We had all of the systems and everything in place for six months now. When the team was named, we threw them all into an app. Once a week, everybody got to see two systems. It was kind of, “Watch as you go, but by the time you get to the Olympics, make sure you’ve watched.” We get to see who did their homework, and this team was good. They all passed.
Does Brad Marchand usually show up with his homework done?
Cooper: Oh, Marchy. I’ll tell you, when it is all said and done in my career, he is going to go down as one of my favourites I’ve ever coached.
This is a serious group, and these guys take it really seriously, but is Marchand one of those individuals who helps with the pressure release every now and then?
Cooper: First of all, he is the been-there-done-it guy. He has been in these situations before. But there are a whole bunch of alphas. They all work in their own way. Marchy is one of the guys whose timing is excellent. He knows when the situation is tense. He knows when to come in and how to relax everybody. It could be the goofiest thing ever, but his timing and his acumen for what is going on — not a lot of guys have it, and it is an asset. With the focus, the amount of intensity, and everything that goes into the game, there has to be a little levity there at times. Marchy knows when to do it.
Who made the decision to room Drew Doughty and Marchand together? Are you making those calls as the coach?
Cooper: They probably switched it. That was probably not the case. Veteran moves.
Because this was a super-secret practice and the media wasn’t there, did you run the same lines? Did anything change?
Cooper: No, nothing changed. There is nothing super-secret about what is going on here. The only difference is that we ran a little bit of special teams, which — to me — is a big part of this tournament, and we wanted to make sure we had a little chemistry there. But no, everything was the same.
🇨🇦 lines at first practice of Milan Olympics
Celebrini – McDavid – Wilson
Marchand – MacKinnon – Suzuki
Stone – Crosby – Marner
Hagel – Horvat – Reinhart
Jarvis, BennettToews – Makar
Morrissey – Parayko
Harley – Doughty
Theodore – Sanheim @TSN_Sports— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) February 8, 2026
h/t Ryan Rishaug
