SportsHockeyOlympics

Canadian Olympic hockey players roasted for drinking Tim Hortons in Italy

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
|
Feb 12 2026, 11:49 pm
Canadian Olympic hockey players roasted for drinking Tim Hortons in Italy
X/luxashz

When you think of staples of Canadian culture, a few things always seem to rise to the top of the list.

There’s hockey, politeness, and, of course, Tim Hortons coffee.

While critics of the brand will be quick to remind you that Tims lost a lot of its Canadian heritage when it was sold to American owners in 2014, it’s hard to deny its place in the country’s identity.

For reasons that we’re not totally sure we understand, the donut shop named after and co-founded by the Hockey Hall of Fame member has stuck out through the decades as a major export of Canadian culture, with locations now in 13 different countries across the globe.

And while the closest Tim Hortons locations to the Winter Olympics in Milan are in Spain and the United Kingdom, Canada’s hockey players at the world’s biggest sporting event weren’t exactly ready to compete without some coffee from their unofficial national brand.

Prior to their first game of the tournament, a picture surfaced of Canadian hockey stars Brad Marchand, Nathan Mackinnon and team captain Sidney Crosby posing with some fans and having a familiar cup of Tim Hortons.

Fans online were quick to laugh at the Canadians for finding a way to get some Tims while abroad, particularly in a country like Italy that’s known for having a diverse coffee culture of its own.

“Surely there’s a better cup of coffee in Italy,” eastlinkaidan wrote on X.

“Ok Sid, some feedback as a fellow travel study leader: encourage the kids to enjoy local delicacies like ‘espresso’!” second_sailing added.

But it turns out there’s a much simpler explanation: Tim Hortons and the Canadian Olympic Committee are partners, as per a brand deal that became official in January.

And given that all three players in the photo have previously worked on ad campaigns for Tim Hortons, it’s not a surprise to still see them representing the brand abroad.

“We’re proud that our iconic red Tims cups will be a familiar sight at Canada Olympic House Celebration Series and that we’ll be serving our coffee to Team Canada throughout the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games,” said Hope Bagozzi, chief marketing officer for Tim Hortons, in a release last month.

So while it might be fun to think of Crosby as having smuggled thousands of coffee pods across the pond for his teammates, it seems like having an official supplier helps make the Olympic journey feel a bit more like back home.

ADVERTISEMENT