The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will mark the first time that NHL players will be participating since 2014 in Sochi. After a long 12 years, we'll be able to see a true best-on-best tournament with a gold medal on the line.
While we must wait for teams to slowly announce their players, the coaching staffs for the 2026 Olympics are starting to come together. And there will be a former St. Louis Blues forward behind the bench for Team Slovakia at the Olympics.
Slovakia announced that former NHLer Vladimir Orszagh will be its head coach for the 2026 Olympics. He is replacing Craig Ramsay, who held the post since the 2017-18 season, including a bronze medal at the 2022 Olympics.
Orszagh already has some experience as head coach of Slovakia as he took over behind the bench at the 2025 IIHF World Championship in May when Ramsay had a health issue. He's also been an assistant on Ramsay's staff since 2018.
While Orszagh finished his NHL career in St. Louis, it wouldn't be hard to imagine some Blues fans forgetting about him. He played just 16 games with the Blues in the 2005-06 season after getting claimed off waivers.
This came after he went back to Slovakia for the 2004-05 season due to the lockout. He scored four goals and had five assists for nine points in his short time with the Blues before leaving the league due to a knee injury.
We'll see what other players or coaches at the 2026 Olympics have ties to the Blues as the rosters are released, but we do know that one current member of the team is missing out on the huge opportunity in February.