2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: Previewing the Men's Hockey Tournament

Here we go again.

Just like in Pyeongchang in 2018, there are no current NHL players competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, which leaves us with a wide-open field in men's ice hockey.

The rosters of the 12 competing teams will consist of the top players from elsewhere, including Russia's KHL and other European leagues, the NCAA and the American Hockey League. There are even a couple of youngsters from junior hockey.

In North American time zones, the men's hockey tournament will run from Feb. 9 to 19. Here's a look at the format, some notable players to watch and pre-tournament odds courtesy of DraftKings.

Note: Odds current as of Feb. 6.      

The 2022 tournament format is unchanged from recent Olympics. In other words, it's as confusing as ever. Here's the breakdown (dates/times accurate for Eastern time zone).

Twelve teams are participating:

• The top eight earned their spots based on their IIHF World Rankings as of April 2020 and are seeded accordingly: Canada (No. 1), Russian Olympic Committee (No. 2), Finland (No. 3), Sweden (No. 4), Czech Republic (No. 5), USA (No. 6), Germany (No. 7), Switzerland (No. 8)
• The next three spots are filled by teams that won qualification tournaments: Slovakia (No. 9), Latvia (No. 10) and Denmark (No. 11)
• The final spot goes to the host country, China, despite the fact that the China's men's team was ranked 32nd in the world in 2021

Feb. 9-13: Preliminary Round

Teams are placed in three groups of four. Each team will play three preliminary-round games, facing each team in its group once.

After the preliminary round is complete, the top team from each group and the second-place team with the best overall record will receive byes into the quarterfinals.

Feb. 14-15: Qualification Round

The eight lower-seeded teams will then be ranked for a one-game qualification playoff. 

• No. 5 vs. No. 12
• No. 6 vs. No. 11
• No. 7 vs. No. 10
• No. 8 vs. No. 9

The losers of those four games will be eliminated. The winners will advance to the quarterfinals.

Feb. 15-16: Quarterfinal Round

The remaining eight teams will face off in the quarterfinals. The four losers will be eliminated. The winners will advance to the semifinals.

Feb. 17-18: Semifinal Round

The two semifinal games will take place at 11:10 p.m. ET on Feb. 17 and 8:10 a.m. on Feb. 18.

Feb. 19: Medal Round

The semifinal losers will play in the bronze-medal game on Feb. 19 at 8:10 a.m. The gold-medal game will follow at 11:10 p.m.    

Canada

• Current IIHF world ranking: 1
• Pre-tournament odds of winning: +700, $100 bet wins $700 (4th)
• 2018 result: bronze medal

Between 2002 and 2014, the Canadians won three out of four Olympic gold medals when NHL players were participating in the Games. Without their top-tier athletes, they settled for bronze in Pyeongchang, after a shocking semifinal upset by Germany.

This time, Canada's captain will be 37-year-old Eric Staal, who won gold in Vancouver in 2010.

Staal also won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and the IIHF World Championship in 2007, making him one of just 29 players in hockey's elite Triple Gold Club.  

Canada's general manager, Shane Doan, elected to blend youth with experience when building his Olympic roster. Defenseman Owen Power, 19, showed poise beyond his years when he won gold with Canada at the World Championship before being selected first overall in the NHL draft. He will be joined by another teenager, bullish center Mason McTavish, 19, who was chosen two picks later.

In net, the Canadians are also taking a youthful approach. Their starter is likely to be 20-year-old Northeastern University sophomore Devon Levi, who delivered a standout performance in helping his country earn a silver medal at the 2021 World Junior Championship.

Three players on the Canadian roster were on the bronze-medal winning squad in Pyeongchang: defensemen Maxim Noreau and Mat Robinson and forward Eric O'Dell.

                   

United States

• Current IIHF world ranking: 4
• Pre-tournament odds of winning: +1,600 (7th)
• 2018 result: seventh

In 2018, USA Hockey went off the board a bit, tapping young NCAA prospects Ryan Donato, Troy Terry and Jordan Greenway to join a group of journeymen.

Though the American team failed to medal, Donato's five goals tied him with Kirill Kaprizov and Ilya Kovalchuk for the most in the tournament, and Terry's five assists landed him second in team scoring.

This year, U.S. general manager John Vanbiesbrouck has doubled down. His Olympic roster features 15 active NCAA players, headlined by 2021 second overall draft pick Matty Beniers from the University of Michigan at forward and 2020 fifth overall pick Jake Sanderson, a University of North Dakota sophomore, on defense. Sanderson is expected to be cleared in time to join his teammates in China after COVID-19 testing issues.

All told, it's the youngest U.S. Olympic roster since 1994.           

             

Germany

• Current IIHF world ranking: 5
• Pre-tournament odds of winning: +2000 (8th)
• 2018 result: silver medal

Germany rode an Olympic wave all the way to a silver medal in Pyeongchang.

Even more impressively, the Germans have used that Olympics success to help boost interest in hockey in their soccer-mad country. Following in the footsteps of Leon Draisaitl, prospects like Tim Stutzle and Moritz Seider are now establishing themselves in the NHL.

This year's squad features a number of holdovers from the Pyeongchang roster, including NHL veteran Dominik Kahun. Other familiar names to North American hockey fans include two-time Stanley Cup champion Tom Kuhnhackl, forward Tobias Rieder and veteran defenseman Korbinian Holzer. 

The German squad will be helmed by Finnish coach Toni Soderholm, who took over when Marco Sturm joined the Los Angeles Kings as an assistant not long after his Olympic success.

             

China

• Current IIHF world ranking: 32
• Pre-tournament odds of winning: +70000 (12th)
• 2018 result: did not play

The host nation for the Winter Olympics gets an automatic berth in the hockey tournaments. But questions have arisen about whether China's squad is good enough to maintain the competitive integrity of the event.

For an idea of what the Chinese team is facing, look back to South Korea, where the hosts in Pyeongchang scored three goals and gave up 19 while losing all four of their games. And the Koreans were ranked a relatively lofty 18th heading into those Games.

Most of the Chinese roster is made up of members of the KHL's Kunlun Red Star team, which is based in Beijing. Red Star captain Brandon Yip, 36, leads the group. A native of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Yip played 174 career NHL games with the Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators and Phoenix Coyotes.

                  

What To Expect in Group A

First off, expect to see China endure some blowout losses. And while the games between the other three squads should be competitive, Canada should continue its strong recent run of international play, at least into the knockout-round games.

Russian Olympic Committee

• Current IIHF world ranking: 3
• Pre-tournament odds of winning: +150 (1st)
• 2018 result: gold medal

In the 2018 gold-medal game, Russia's hockey team eked out a late comeback against Germany to force overtime and then captured the championship with a game-winning goal from sniper Kirill Kaprizov.

Now with the Minnesota Wild, Kaprizov won't be back this time around. Neither will legendary greybeards Ilya Kovalchuk or Pavel Datsyuk. 

Not surprisingly, the entire Russian roster is drawn from the country's national league, the KHL. And unlike Canada and the U.S., Russia elected not to bring its most highly touted young netminder. Yaroslav Askarov was drafted 11th overall by the Nashville Predators in 2020, but his development has been a bit bumpy. 

The Russians might have the deepest roster in this tournament, but it remains to be seen whether they have enough firepower to repeat as gold medalists. 

                              

Czech Republic

• Current IIHF world ranking: 6
• Pre-tournament odds of winning: +900 (5th)
• 2018 result: fourth

Arguably the second-most accomplished former NHLer in these games resides on the Czech roster. David Krejci was, until this season, the reliable second-line center with the Boston Bruins, including during their Stanley Cup run in 2010-11 when he tied for the team lead in scoring. 

Two other veteran forwards on the Czech team will also be familiar to NHL fans: Michael Frolik has 858 NHL games under his belt and won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13, while Vladimir Sobotka logged 548 games with the Bruins, St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres. 

The Czechs are a veteran squad made up primarily of KHL players, but they haven't had a big moment on the international stage for a while. Their last medal in an IIHF competition came at the 2012 World Championship.

                                                     

Switzerland

• Current IIHF world ranking: 8
• Pre-tournament odds of winning: +1400 (6th)
• 2018 result: 10th

Every player on Switzerland's Olympic roster is playing in the Swiss National League this season—and most of them have been playing together in international competition for years. Defenseman Raphael Diaz will be playing in his fourth Olympics. He'll be joined by 12 other 30-somethings, including other former ex-NHLers like Yannick Weber, Gaetan Haas and netminder Reto Berra.

Patrick Fischer has been at the helm as head coach since December 2015. 

On the international stage, the Swiss are known for being spoilers, causing upsets with stout defensive play and lights-out goaltending. If they could work that magic in their preliminary-round game against the Russians, that could cause some intriguing turmoil.

                      

Denmark

• Current IIHF world ranking: 12
• Pre-tournament odds of winning: +10000 (T-10th)
• 2018 result: did not play

Just being at these Olympics is a big win for the Danes, who qualified for the first time after a 2-0 win over Norway in a qualifying tournament in August. Like Germany, Denmark has been making strides on the world hockey stage. Stars like Nikolaj Ehlers and Frederik Andersen are now doing big things in the NHL. Nikolaj's father, Heinz Ehlers, has coached the Danish national team since 2017 (became head coach in 2018).

Denmark's Olympians are scattered across Europe on club teams in Germany, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and even Austria and Italy. But the core group has been playing together internationally for years and will be led once again by Frans Nielsen, the 37-year-old veteran of 925 NHL games.

                                                       

What To Expect in Group B    

There could be some volatility during round-robin play in Group B. The Russians lack the star power of their 2018 squad, and the Czechs, Swiss and Danes are all led by wily veterans with plenty of motivation to cap off their careers with one last shining moment.

If you enjoy high drama, don't sleep on these games.

Finland

• Current IIHF world ranking: 2
• Pre-tournament odds of winning: +450 (2nd)
• 2018 result: sixth

More than anyone else, Finland has mastered the art of making the most out of the talent it has available. 

Their roster isn't half bad this time around either. Markus Granlund, Teemu Hartikainen and Sakari Manninen are having a solid season as linemates with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the KHL and could draw the first-line assignment in Beijing. 

The Finnish squad also boasts a couple of wily veteran forwards who are not far removed from the NHL: Valtteri Filppula (1,056 NHL games) and Leo Komarov (491 games). Komarov was part of Finland's last team to reach the Olympic podium, winning bronze in Sochi in 2014.

With the Finns, the whole is always greater than the sum of the parts. That could be a recipe for success in Beijing.

                                                

Sweden

• Current IIHF world ranking: 7
• Pre-tournament odds of winning: +550 (3rd)
• 2018 result: fifth

Sweden is usually a top contender in international competition. The team won gold at the 2006 Olympics and silver in 2014, along with back-to-back gold medals at the 2017 and 2018 World Championships.

But lately, the Swedes have been on a downslide. They've dropped three spots in the World Rankings from 2020, when the Olympic brackets were set, and finished a disappointing ninth at the 2021 Worlds.

In the NHL, Swedes like Victor Hedman, Mika Zibanejad and Filip Forsberg dazzle fans on a daily basis, and more stars are coming, including defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who was drafted sixth overall in 2021.

But those young stars won't be donning the three crowns in Beijing. With former NHLer Johan Garpenlov behind the bench, the Swedes look like they've taken a page out of Finland's handbook.

The names of the former NHLers don't carry much dazzle, although Stanley Cup winner Joakim Nordstrom and two-time champion Marcus Kruger will both enter the elite Triple Gold Club if the Swedes can somehow skate their way to a championship.

                                                      

Slovakia

• Current IIHF world ranking: 9
• Pre-tournament odds of winning: +5000 (9th)
• 2018 result: 11th

The Slovaks had no trouble dispatching Belarus, Austria and Poland in their Olympic qualification tournament in August and are bringing a unique mix of athletes to Beijing.

Players like Marko Dano, Martin Marincin and Tomas Jurco all spent time in the NHL, but Slovakia's most intriguing skaters are a pair of draft-eligible 17-year-olds. Forward Juraj Slafkovsky has been ranked second among international skaters by NHL Central Scouting at midseason, while defenseman Simon Nemec ranks sixth.

The Slovaks don't have the depth to contend for a medal, but their talented youngsters should be fun to watch.

        

Latvia

• Current IIHF world ranking: 10
• Pre-tournament odds of winning: +10000 (T-10th)
• 2018 result: did not play

After failing to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics, the Latvians punched their ticket to Beijing by beating out France, Hungary and Italy in their August qualifying tournament. And while they're short on household names, they're one of the nations that can wreak havoc by pulling out an airtight defensive display or a goaltending masterclass that leads to an upset.

Latvia should also have good team chemistry. Many of these players have spent years together on the national team, and about half of the roster is made up of members of the Latvian KHL franchise Dinamo Riga.

                           

What To Expect in Group C

The Finns should have no trouble skating away with first place in Group C. But don't hand the Swedes second place too quickly; Slovakia and Latvia could make more noise than you might expect.

       

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