SportsLine's expert Mike Severance reveals his USA vs. Latvia picks for their Winter Olympics men's hockey matchup on Thursday

Latvia unveiled its roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 on Tuesday, headlined by Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins. The best Latvia has finished in the tournament was the 2014 Sochi Olympics, when it reached the quarterfinals. This is the first group of NHL players to represent Latvia at the Olympics since then.

In a showdown between three members of the Canucks organization, it was Teddy Blueger and Anri Ravinskis who came out victorious with Latvia taking a 4–3 win against Germany. Latvia’s first win of the tournament came with a different goaltender in net, as former Canuck Artūrs Šilovs started for his team today.

Severance is coming off an outstanding NHL season in which he went 235-155-21 (plus $2,022). He entered the Olympic break on a 26-12 roll on NHL money-line picks this season, returning $1,326 for $100 players. Anyone following his hockey picks at their favorite sportsbooks could have seen huge returns.

Which countries are performing the best at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are underway in Italy and several Devils are taking part, representing their countries in Men’s Ice Hockey: Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler (Switzerland),