Beijing 2022: without the NHL’s best, Russia are favourites for Olympic gold, but could Finland or Germany spring a surprise?
- Without the NHL, Russia, competing in Beijing as ROC for Russian Olympic Committee, is in a strong position to retain the gold they won in 2018
- Host nation China was under pressure to prove its men’s team met the competitive standard to play Olympic hockey. That is less of an issue now
Russia, OAR, ROC – whatever the name, now the world’s best players are out of the Beijing Olympics, the Russians will be the favourites for the gold medal.
After the NHL withdrew from the Winter Games on Wednesday to save a league schedule ravaged by virus outbreaks on numerous teams, Europe-based players are set to dominate the Olympic men’s tournament.
That puts the Russians, competing in Beijing as ROC for Russian Olympic Committee, in a strong position to retain the gold medal they won in 2018 under the Olympic Athletes from Russia name. The name changes were required as part of Russia’s sanctions for various doping-related issues across multiple Olympic sports.
Just as it was four years ago, the Kontinental Hockey League remains the strongest league outside North America. Russia has used the big-spending SKA St Petersburg and CSKA Moscow clubs to keep some talented younger Russians at home when they might otherwise have moved to the West.
The Russian roster will be less familiar to North American fans than the 2018 line-up led by Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk, who have not officially retired but have not played any hockey this season. Kovalchuk may be in Beijing in a manager role for the Russian Hockey Federation.