OpinionBeijing 2022: boycott unlikely as NHL players lock in, Meng Wanzhou saga is over and US Olympic Committee makes vaccines mandatory
- National Hockey League players have their hearts set on Beijing 2022 now, and the Chinese Olympic Committee needs to take care of this powerful group
- The boycott movement, which first centred around the alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, has little weight if NHL Olympians are gung ho to go to China
Ice hockey culture, whether it is North American or European, is built around two common goals for players. Kids growing up in Canada, the United States, Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic, the quintessential countries of the sport, largely dream of the same things as youngsters.
The first is raising the Stanley Cup above their head, the second is representing their country at the Olympics, wearing their homeland’s colours and winning gold.
Winning the Stanley Cup is the ultimate goal given the NHL has always been the world’s premier ice hockey league. Representing your country at the Olympics has a different, yet equally compelling backstory. NHL players first went to the Olympics in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, and have gone to every one since, except Pyeongchang in 2018.
The Olympics have produced some amazing tournaments, brilliant showcases of talent, etched in hockey fans’ minds. There are also other great international ice hockey moments such as the 1972 Summit Series between the Canadians and the Soviet Union, and the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” between the US and the Soviet Union in Lake Placid at the 1980 Winter Olympics.