The International Ice Hockey Federation confirmed Monday that the ice surface to be used in Milan, Italy, for the 2026 Winter Olympics will be shorter than NHL-regulation size. Games at the two arenas will be played on rinks measuring 196.85 by 85.3 feet, while regular NHL dimensions are 200 by 85 feet. News of the size difference came as a surprise to participating players and, perhaps more importantly, to the NHL commissioner's office,
During an appearance on Sportsnet's "Real Kyper and Bourne," DeBoer said he expects the playing surface to be several feet smaller than an NHL rink, though he was baffled as to why. "The ice surface, it looks like it's going to be smaller than NHL rink standards [by] it looks like three or four feet," he said. "I don't understand how that happened."