NBC Sports and Turner Sports will reunite a familiar broadcast team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, with Kenny Albert set to call play-by-play for Team USA men’s and women’s hockey, the network announced Thursday.
According to a report in The Athletic, Albert, Turner Sports’ lead NHL play-by-play announcer and a longtime voice for NBC’s hockey coverage, will team with Eddie Olczyk for men’s games. Olczyk, who works for both NBC Sports and Turner Sports, will return to the booth alongside Albert, while Brian Boucher returns as “Inside the Glass” reporter for his third consecutive Winter Olympics.
For the women’s tournament, Albert will be joined by two-time Olympic medalist A.J. Mleczko. Jennifer Botterill, a three-time Olympic gold medalist with Team Canada, will make her NBC Olympics debut as the analyst beginning with the quarterfinals.
This will mark Albert’s seventh Winter Olympics as a hockey play-by-play voice, the most by any American broadcaster. He will also handle play-by-play for the medal rounds of both tournaments.
The February competition is expected to draw strong attention. Last February, the 4 Nations Face-Off men’s exhibition between the United States and Canada drew 9.3 million viewers on ESPN, surpassing Game 7 of the 2019 NHL Finals, which had 8.9 million viewers on NBC.
In Canada, the same game averaged nearly seven million viewers across Sportsnet and TVA.
The men’s Olympic tournament will feature U.S., Canada, Finland, and Sweden, along with Czechia, Germany, Latvia, and Slovakia, all fielding NHL players. The 2026 Games mark the first Winter Olympics since 2014 to feature NHL talent.
NBC Sports will also deploy a deep roster of broadcasters for the games. Brendan Burke and Chris Vosters will handle additional play-by-play duties, with analysts including former NHL players Anson Carter and T.J. Oshie, as well as four-time Olympic medalist Angela Ruggiero.
Streaming will play a key role in NBC’s coverage, with Peacock serving as the primary platform. The Winter Olympics will run February 6-22, with live broadcasts on NBC during the day and full streaming on Peacock. The women’s tournament begins Feb. 5 and concludes Feb. 19, while the men’s tournament runs Feb. 11-22.
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