TARRYTOWN, New York — After Tuesday’s New York Rangers practice ended, Mika Zibanejad and assistant coach David Quinn stood toward the far end of the rink, chatting as players around them stickhandled, shot pucks or left the ice for the dressing room. The first two Rangers’ Olympians to return to the ice had plenty to catch up on. Six days earlier, they were in Milan, Italy, on opposite benches for a quarterfinal matchup. Zibanejad was on the Swedish team, and Quinn was an assistant on Rangers coach Mike Sullivan’s Team USA staff.
Zibanejad tied that game in the final minutes with a one-time slapshot that beat Hellebuyck, but the Americans won in overtime and ultimately took gold in Sunday’s final. A devastated Zibanejad hung his head on the bench in the moments after the quarterfinal ended. Speaking to New York reporters Tuesday, he said he’s “still not really over” how the Swedes’ tournament ended but spoke highly about his Olympic experience overall. Asked how to balance those two feelings, he said it’s important to “allow yourself to feel disappointed and feel all the emotions after a loss like that.”
“Probably at one point still be proud to have the opportunity to play in the Olympics and be an Olympian and represent your country,” the 32-year-old continued. “It’s been 12 years since NHL players got a chance to do so. Definitely not taking anything for granted. You never know if it’s your last chance or not. The more time that passes by I think it’ll be easier to look back at it.”
Zibanejad, who has 23 NHL goals this season and is one of the Rangers’ few positives in an overall disappointing 2025-26 season, kept up his strong play in Milan. He finished the Olympics with three goals and six points, second on the team to only Lucas Raymond. He enjoyed living in the Olympic village, where he roomed with defenseman Rasmus Andersson.
“Felt like it was back to being those youth hockey tournaments when you share rooms and play cards and just having fun with the guys,” he said. “It was fun.”
The center said he gained appreciation for all of his Swedish teammates and mentioned appreciating the chance to be around Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog and see Raymond’s skill flourish on the international stage.
Zibanejad also had his wife, Irma, and their 2-year-old daughter, Ella, with him in Milan. That made his experience even better: “It’s all about creating memories and obviously being able to enjoy the moment,” he said. He put his Sweden Olympic locker name tag over Ella’s door upon returning to the U.S.
Tough Zibanejad didn’t make it to any non-hockey Olympic events, he and Irma — a former Swedish national team soccer player — went to an Inter Milan-Juventus soccer game to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Jack Hughes won the tournament for the Americans with an overtime goal against Canada in the gold medal game. Zibanejad watched the game on TV. He said he wasn’t sure if it made Sweden’s loss easier to swallow knowing it came at the hands of the eventual champions.
Rangers captain J.T. Miller and alternate captain Vincent Trocheck were on the American team.
“Happy that they got to experience that, seeing the joy and how happy they were,” Zibanejad said, though he laughed that he was jealous not to have the experience himself. “(The gold medal game was) an unbelievable game and a fun one to watch. A lot of excitement, a lot of chances and a good advertisement for hockey.”
The Rangers are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Zibanejad believes that the Olympic break was a good reset for all the New York players, whether they were at the Olympics or not. He joked that, when Trocheck and Miller return, the Rangers are “getting two guys that are a lot happier than I am.”
Swedish Olympian Mika Zibanejad is back on the ice today. pic.twitter.com/q2bboF2cIA
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) February 24, 2026
Asked if coming back to regular-season NHL hockey is a letdown after an intense, exciting international tournament, Zibanejad acknowledged that there’s a difference between an Olympic quarterfinal and Thursday’s game against the Flyers. He believes, though, that the tournament provided a boost.
“If anything,” he said, “it gave me more energy.”
Some Americans return
Miller, Trocheck and head coach Mike Sullivan all remained away from the team after winning gold medals at the Olympics, but Quinn and team president Chris Drury, an assistant general manager for Team USA, were back at the team facility. Quinn was on the ice, and Drury watched practice from the balcony.
The Rangers have a policy prohibiting assistant coaches from talking with the media, so Quinn did not speak to reporters about his experience in Italy.
Other notes
•Recent waiver claim Vincent Iorio skated on a defensive pair with Braden Schneider. Both are right shots, but Schneider skated on the left side at practice, which he’s done before.
•Adam Edström shed his non-contact jersey Tuesday, instead skating in a regular sweater. He hasn’t played since Nov. 29 with a lower-body injury.
•Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin both continue to look ready to go. They went through another practice. The team has yet to take them off injured reserve, but they have been full participants since skates began during the Olympic break.