Expectations are always high among Canadians when the Olympic hockey tournament begins. In the past, Team Canada has won nine gold medals in Olympic men’s hockey, and four gold medals in Olympic women’s hockey, more than any other nation. Yes, I know the NHL is not sending their best players to Beijing, as thy decided to play a meaningless exhibition game called the All-Star Game in Las Vegas instead. We know that coronavirus hit many NHL teams hard in January, but let’s face it, the owners did not want to send their players to China anyways.
The Olympic Women’s Hockey Tournament gets underway Wednesday evening with Canada playing Switzerland. Unlike the men, the best women’s hockey players on the planet are in Beijing. Canada will also play Finland on February 4, the Russian Olympic Committee on February 6, and the United States on February 7. All pool games for the Canadian women are to be played at 9pm MT. Canada is the reigning World Champions, but the United States need to be considered the favourites as they are the reigning Olympic champions, and won five straight World Championships before Canada won in 2021 in Calgary.
The men’s team will definitely contend for an Olympic medal alongside Finland, Sweden, and Russia. There is no doubt that Canada is at a significant disadvantage in Beijing as they are not able to send their best players, while Russia are able to send their best from the Kontinental Hockey League. Finland is traditionally pesky at the Olympic Games. Sweden has a history of not showing up when games matter most, while the Germans could surprise after winning silver four years ago in Pyeongchang.
Canada’s guaranteed games in men’s hockey will be on February 10 at 6 a.m. MT against Germany, February 11 at 9 p.m. MT against the United States, and February 13 at 6 a.m. MT against China. The men’s gold medal game is on February 19 at 9 p.m. MT and the women’s gold medal game is on February 16 at 9 p.m. MT. I am projecting Canada silver in women’s hockey and bronze in men’s hockey.
