With the 2026 Winter Olympics about to begin, we at Vogue are taking a wide view of the state of play in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. Because it would be a true shame to reduce the athletes’ merits solely to their “ability” and whether they “win or lose,” I’ve been studying up on the various hockey players due to compete at this year’s Games with an aim to round up a totally unscientific batch of the all-around best and/or coolest.
In the spirit of gender equity and bisexuality, this list includes players from both the men’s and women’s teams, and for the sake of brevity, I’ve limited the field to American players. I consider this list to be spiritually linked to a Google Doc I had going with several friends in around 2017, where we ranked the Los Angeles Dodgers by hotness (in case you’re curious, Kiké Hernandez and Clayton Kershaw tied for first), but this list also takes into account who’s got good style, good off-the-ice hobbies, and/or an all-around good vibe. Let’s dive in and do some Heated Rivalry-inflected favorite-picking, shall we?
Hilary Knight
Photo: Getty Images
I mean, I couldn’t not include one of the widely agreed-upon best players in women’s hockey history—who also happens to be openly queer—especially since Knight, a forward and captain for the Seattle Torrent, with a record-setting 10 gold medals at the IIHF World Women’s Championship to her credit, has been dating Team USA speed skater Brittany Bowe since 2022. Guys, the now-couple would take masked evening walks together during the Winter Games in Beijing! Am I…somehow nostalgic for COVID restrictions right now? (No, but this is almost cute enough to get me there.)
Brock Nelson
Photo: Getty Images
