Nathan MacKinnon makes his feelings known about playing for Team Canada at the 2026 Olympics

Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon opened up about the experience of playing for Team Canada at the 2026 Olympics.

A clip published on August 31 on X showed the former Hart Trophy winner speaking at Team Canada’s Olympic orientation camp last week. In the clip, MacKinnon made his feelings known about what it’s like playing for his home country.

He stated:

“Yeah, it's something I've never experienced until the Four Nations, just the whole country rooting for you. But there's a lot of pressure as well. I mean, for us, it's cold or robust, which is a great feeling.”

The comments underscore the singular experience this generation of NHLers will go through at the 2026 Olympics in Milano-Cortina. It’s been more than a decade since pro players took part in the Olympics. The last time the league agreed to send players was back during the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.

Now, Nathan MacKinnon and his teammates will live a unique experience as the entire nation of Canada roots for its hometown heroes. That situation prompted MacKinnon to conclude:

“I mean, that's kind of our expectations as athletes, is to be the best, and to win. So it's exciting and excited to feel that pressure.”

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Nathan MacKinnon makes his feelings known about playing for Team Canada at the 2026 Olympics

There will certainly be pressure on Team Canada to reprise its gold medal performance from 2014. In the two Olympiads since, Russia capture gold in 2018 with Finland in 2022.

Now that NHLers will be back in the mix, Nathan MacKinnon and Team Canada will have more pressure than ever to bring home the gold.

Nathan MacKinnon “jittery” during first practice at 4 Nations Face-Off

McKinnon won the tourney MVP at the 4 Nations Face-Off - Source: Imagn

For Nathan MacKinnon, like virtually everyone in Team Canada’s lineup during the 4 Nations Face-Off, playing for their home country was a new experience. It was the first time MacKinnon played for Jon Cooper instead of facing him.

But as NHL.com described in an August 28 piece, Nathan MacKinnon was a little “jittery” during his first encounter with Cooper on the ice.

The piece described how MacKinnon was confused with Cooper’s system. He didn’t know the drills, exercises, and plays. The terminology was different, and so was the chatter.

That situation led MacKinnon to be fearful of messing up and disappointing his new coach. But as everyone saw on the ice, that didn’t happen. MacKinnon had a great 4 Nations tourney. He captured the tournament MVP award while leading the way in scoring.

This time around, Nathan MacKinnon will be much more familiar with Jon Cooper and teammates. Unless there’s a sudden shift in the team’s makeup, MacKinnon will get a chance to lead Team Canada towards another Olympic gold medal.