The 2026 Winter Olympics are fast approaching, and hockey fans around the world are excited to watch the best players in the world on the global stage. However, recent reports about the ice rink are starting to concern those around the NHL.

NHL Insider Frank Seravalli spoke on the topic Tuesday morning, including quotes from Team Canada assistant coach Pete DeBoer on Kyper & Bourne:

“We’re hearing rumblings that this arena that is supposed to host the Olympics in Milan is not only not on track, but some really concerning updates have emanated from Milan in the last few days.

“First off, the Milan organizing committee saying that there is no plan B, that there’s no other place to host these games; that they’re not looking to move the games somewhere else. And that part has certainly raised a red flag, because I know the NHL has done their best to stay out of it, knowing that this is an IOC-controlled event.

“And two, that not only may the arena not be finished – and as recently as Halloween, there was no roof on the building, which is alarming – but Pete DeBoer, part of the team Canada coaching staff, shared earlier this week that the arena in Milan may be smaller. We knew that it wasn’t going to be Olympic-size, but it was supposed to be built to NHL standards. Now apparently, the rink that’s being constructed is going to be even smaller than NHL standards by three or four feet. It might not sound like much, but for a rink that already feels like it’s jammed with some huge bodies on a night-to-night basis. If you’re to now make it 195 by 85 just for theoretical sake, or even if it’s on the width side, it’s even worse, it drastically changes the game.”

This isn’t the first report that the arena may not be ready in time. DeBoer’s comments on the rink being undersized are new. Olympic ice is typically 100 feet wide, 15 feet wider than NHL standard of 85 feet. However, the Olympic committee and the NHL agreed that the ice would be NHL-standard size. But now DeBoer says the ice surface may be three to four feet smaller than that. Whether that’s to the length or the width, we’re unsure, but it would change the game nevertheless.

An important test event for the new arena, the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, was scheduled for later this month. The event would test the ice conditions and concourse facilities (concessions, bathrooms, etc.), among other things, to ensure they are ready for the big event in early February. This has since been cancelled and rescheduled for the beginning of January, roughly one month before the games begin.

If the arena is not ready or up to standards in time, the Chief Games Operations Office for the Milan Olympics does not have a backup plan for where to play the games. What will happen if that’s the case is still unknown. Let’s hope this doesn’t get to that point.