Damian Clara’s stepped up for Italy, but is still a few steps away from being an NHLer

One of the exciting stories from the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics has been fun to watch, but might still be a little way away from the big time.

Italy goaltender Damian Clara has caught the attention of everyone by doing his best to give the host nation a chance against Sweden. In that first game against the Swedes, the Anaheim Ducks prospect turned away 46 shots before going down with an injury, with Azzure only losing 5-2. It’s certainly a feel-good story for an athlete who entered the tournament as a relative unknown.

On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Steve Peters explains to Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton how Clara has been great in Milan, but still has work to do in order to be considered a contender to make it to the NHL.

Steve Peters: You’re always looking for that star [in the Olympics]. That star, that’s like, ‘Hey, this is a guy… he should be in the NHL.’ I’m telling you, every time there’s a big national tournament like this, somebody steps up and is like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this guy’s not in the NHL? He should be.’ For me, it’s that Clara kid, that goaltender for Italy. He’s 6’8″, or whatever the hell he is…again, you’ve got to go back and look at the underlying numbers. How has this player played through his career? How has this player played leading up to the Olympics?

If you’re facing a team like Canada, U.S., or the Swedes, or the Finns that are so much better, there’s no pressure. There’s no stress. There’s just go out and play. … For a goaltender with nothing to lose, just go kick it. Clara gave up [three], but he was still the best player in the game. So, I do want people to temper their opinions in the Olympics over that two-week span of, ‘Hey, this player or that player was really, really, we should see him in the NHL.’ Because two weeks of running on high adrenaline can be different than what you’re gonna be able to do for the remainder of your career. 

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…