The Finnish men's national ice hockey team, nicknamed Leijonat / Lejonen, is governed by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Finland is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called "Big Six", the unofficial group of the six strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the United States, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Sweden.
Ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games program in 1924, in France. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
The men's tournament in ice hockey at the 2006 Winter Olympics was held in Turin, Italy, from 15 to 26 February. Twelve teams competed, with Sweden winning the gold medal, Finland winning silver, and the Czech Republic winning bronze. It was the third Olympic tournament to feature National Hockey League (NHL) players and the tenth best-on-best hockey tournament in history. United States defenseman Chris Chelios set a standard for longest time between his first Olympic ice hockey tournament and his last—he had competed twenty-two years earlier at the 1984 Olympics. The old record was set by Swiss hockey player Bibi Torriani. who had played twenty years after his debut.
The Bolshoy Ice Dome is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Olympic Park, Sochi, Russia. Opened in 2012, the 12,000-seat arena was primarily constructed to host hockey competitions during the 2014 Winter Olympics. Following the Games, it became the home arena of HC Sochi, an expansion team of the KHL. The arena has also hosted concerts and other events. Prior to the Games, the arena hosted the IIHF World U18 Championships and Channel One Cup in 2013.
The Shayba Arena is a 7,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena located at Sochi Olympic Park in Adler, southern rayon of Sochi in Russia. "Shayba" is Russian for a hockey puck. The venue was operated by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and hosted the ice sledge hockey events during the 2014 Winter Paralympics, and some of the ice hockey events during 2014 Winter Olympics along with Bolshoy Ice Dome. The venues were located 300 metres (980 ft) apart.
Hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, home of the National Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks, and at UBC Winter Sports Centre, home of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport's UBC Thunderbirds. Twelve teams competed in the men's event and eight teams competed in the women's event. Canada won both tournaments with victories against the United States, while Finland won both bronze games, however against different opponents.
The IIHF World Ranking is a ranking of the performance of the national ice hockey teams of member countries of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It is based on a formula giving points for each team's placings at IIHF-sanctioned tournaments over the previous four years. The ranking is used to determine seedings and qualification requirements for future IIHF tournaments. The current leader in rankings is Canada in both men's and women's play.
Russia competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, from 7 to 23 February 2014 as the host nation. As host, Russia participated in all 15 sports, with a team consisting of 232 athletes. It is Russia's largest Winter Olympics team to date.
The men's tournament in ice hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics was held in Sochi, Russia between 12–23 February 2014. For the fifth consecutive Olympics, players from the National Hockey League participated. Twelve countries qualified for the tournament; nine of them did so automatically by virtue of their ranking by the International Ice Hockey Federation, while the other three took part in a qualification tournament.
The women's tournament in ice hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics was held in Sochi, Russia.
Canada competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, from February 7 to 23, 2014. Canadians competed in every discipline except Nordic combined.
The United States competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, from February 7 to 23, 2014. Team USA consisted of 222 athletes competing in all 15 sports.
Finland competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia from 7 to 23 February 2014. The Finnish team consisted of 103 competitors who participated in alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, ski jumping, snowboarding, and speed skating.
Switzerland competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, from 7 to 23 February 2014. 163 athletes were participating, making it the largest team Switzerland has ever sent to the Olympic Winter Games. The four-time Olympic gold medalist Simon Ammann was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony.
Czech Republic competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, from 7 to 23 February 2014. A team of 83 athletes in 11 sports competed for the country.
Six new World records and ten new Olympic records were set at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
The ice hockey (hockey) competitions of the 2018 Winter Olympics were played at two venues within the Gangneung Coastal Cluster in Gangneung, South Korea. The Gangneung Hockey Centre, which seats 10,000, and the Kwandong Hockey Centre, which seats 6,000, were both originally scheduled to be completed in 2016 but appear to have been completed in early 2017. Both venues contain Olympic-sized rinks.
Slovenia competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018. 71 athletes competed in 9 sports, including the men's national ice hockey team.
The ice hockey competitions of the 2022 Winter Olympics was played at two venues located in Beijing. The Beijing National Indoor Stadium, which seats 18,000, is located at Olympic Green area. The Wukesong Arena, seating 10,000, was also used, with both arenas having been constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
