Hurricanes forward’s Olympic experience limited to watching on TV: ‘It’s tough’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Andrei Svechnikov laments IOC ban blocking his likely spot on Russia’s 2026 Olympic team.
- Svechnikov posts career-best month and 20 goals yet cannot compete in Milan.
- Canes teammates will play for multiple nations while Svechnikov watches from Mexico.
Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes will soon be taking a vacation in Mexico, sunning himself, off his feet for a few days.
Where he’d rather be is Milan, Italy, skating and competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Had the International Olympic Committee not banned Russia from participating in the Olympics, Svechnikov likely would have been a forward chosen for his country’s national team for the Games. Canes teammate Alexander Nikishin, who starred in Russia’s KHL before coming to the Canes, also would have been considered.
But it’s not to be.
Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin will be playing for Team USA in Milan and center Sebastian Aho for Finland. Forward Nikolaj Ehlers and goalie Frederik Andersen are on Denmark’s national team. Winger Seth Jarvis was not chosen for Team Canada, but was on the team’s reserve list and hoping to be a late addition.
Svechnikov must watch.
“I’ve never had that experience before and that would be awesome for me, to play with the best Russian guys and spend time with them and get to know them better,” Svechnikov said in an N&O interview. ““With the Olympic Games … as a kid you always dream about different things but the Olympics is one of the most important of them. I just feel like it’s very important to be in the Olympics and it’s tough not to.
“You would like to be going, but with all the situations … it’s tough not to be going. It sucks, for sure.”
The “situations” Svechnikov mentioned center around the IOC’s firm stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The IOC suspended the Russia Olympic Committee in October 2023, keeping Russian teams out of the Olympics but allowing some Russian athletes to compete under a neutral flag after being vetted.
Svechnikov, 25, would have been a perfect fit for a Russian team with his skill, strength and power. He also would have gone to Milan on a heater, off the most productive month of his NHL career.
Svechnikov set career highs for a calendar month in January with 10 goals and 19 points. He picked up his 19th and 20th goals of the season last Thursday in a 5-4 comeback win over Utah, and was a force on the ice.
“He’s such a physical presence and can skate so well,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. ”Obviously, he has that scoring touch and passing ability, but he can touch all facets of the game when he’s on. Maybe it’s a hit, maybe a goal or a play, but he can have an impact on all areas of the game.”
Svechnikov had an ACL injury in March 2023 that kept him out the rest of the season. But he said it wasn’t a matter of again feeling like the pre-injury Svech, the one who won the fastest skater competition at the 2023 All-Star Weekend.
“I’m the same person, same player,” he said. “I feel the same.”
Svechnikov went without a point in the first eight games this season but more or less shrugged it off at the time, saying his goals and points would come and adding, “I know what kind of player I am and what I can do for this team.”
Canes captain Jordan Staal knows. He appreciates what Svechnikov brings to the game and what he has seen of the power forward, who been playing on Sebastian Aho’s line with Jarvis.
“He’s got his strength and his speed back. I think he’s also making better decisions with the puck as well and making it hard on teams to take it off of him,” Staal said. “He’s the player that we all know he can be and this year he’s been solid throughout.”
Russia hosted the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. Canada won the gold medal and Sweden the silver as Finland — with former Canes Jussi Jokinen and Tuomo Ruutu on the roster — came away with the bronze.
“I was 14 at the time and I watched pretty much every game,” said Svechnikov, a native of Barnaul, Russia. “That was the biggest deal back home and probably still is. Everyone was excited and everyone was watching back home.”
On the ice for Russia were forwards Alexander Ovechkin and Vladimir Tarasenko, Evgeny Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk, and one of Svechnikov’s favorites: Pavel Datsyuk.
“I was a big fan and with it being played back home, it feels so close to you,” Svechnikov said.
Svechnikov later played for Russia’s U-20 team in the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, losing to Team USA in the quarterfinals in Buffalo. That has been his only international competition for his home country, and he dreamed of bigger things.
Svechnikov said he may watch some of the Olympic hockey games, especially if his Canes teammates are competing — think Slavin battling Aho, as they did in the 4 Nations Face-Off last season..
“It’s not tough to watch. It’s fine to do that,” Svechnikov said. “But it is tough not to be there.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Hurricanes forward’s Olympic experience limited to watching on TV: ‘It’s tough’."
