Winter Olympics

If Team USA is going to win its first gold medal in men's ice hockey since 1980 at the 2022 Winter Olympics, a squad of mostly youngsters will need to prevail. That's because, for the second straight Winter Games, there won't be any NHL players participating in Olympic competition.

In recent months, the NHL was hit hard by postponements because of COVID-19 issues, and the league needed to utilize what would have been the Olympic break in February to make up regular-season games. For the U.S. national team, that means it will be relying on players who have yet to reach the NHL or who are no longer in the league.

At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Team USA lost in the quarterfinals in PyeongChang, falling short of winning a medal. The Americans will look for better results at the 2022 Games, which are set to take place from Feb. 2-20 in Beijing.

The U.S. hasn't medaled at the Olympics since winning the silver in 2010. And if that's going to change this year, the American team will need to take down some tough competition.

Here's everything you need to know about this year's U.S. men's ice hockey national team ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

      

Team USA Roster

The Team USA men's Olympic hockey roster has been revealed 🏒🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/esngZAA5Eg

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 13, 2022

      

Team USA Uniforms

pic.twitter.com/BJvnw56zk2

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) November 24, 2021

      

Preview

Team USA's roster is composed of 15 college players, eight players based in Europe and two AHL players. According to Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times, the U.S. team's average age of 25.1 is the youngest it has sent to the Olympics since the 1994 squad (average age of 22.4).

Although the U.S. team may be young and inexperienced, its roster is filled with potential. And Team USA tried to assemble a group of players that could have success at the Winter Games.

"We know that these players all have speed, tenacity and aggressiveness, which is going to be the style of play that we built this team around," Olympic team general manager John Vanbiesbrouck said, per Elliott.

One of the top American players to watch will be center Matty Beniers, a 19-year-old who will be the youngest player on Team USA. The University of Michigan standout was selected by the Seattle Kraken with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft.

Beniers is having a strong sophomore season at Michigan, as he has tallied 15 goals and 17 assists in 26 games. He's building off his 2020-21 freshman campaign, after which he was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

At the Olympics, Beniers will be joined by one of his Wolverines teammates—fellow sophomore center Brendan Brisson. The 20-year-old Brisson was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft, and he's tallied 16 goals and 15 assists in 27 games for Michigan this season.

Like Brisson, Jake Sanderson was also taken during the first round of the 2020 NHL draft. The University of North Dakota defenseman was selected by the Ottawa Senators at No. 5 overall, and the 19-year-old should be a key player for Team USA's defense at the Olympics.

There's only one player returning from the 2018 U.S. Olympic team, and that's 33-year-old forward Brian O'Neill. At the last Winter Games, he had one goal and three assists in five games. O'Neill has played in the KHL since 2016, and he has 22 games of NHL experience.

David Quinn, who was the head coach of the NHL's New York Rangers from 2018-21, will be serving as Team USA's coach at the Winter Olympics. And he recently discussed how the Americans formed their roster for the upcoming Games.

"It's kind of like putting a band together," Quinn said, per Elliott. "You don't pick five lead singers when you're putting a band together. You're trying to put a team together, and that certainly was our mindset when we were going through this process."

Will the U.S. team be successful in its efforts to take down Olympic favorites such as the Russian Olympic Committee, Finland, Sweden, Canada and more? The Americans have some young, talented players on their roster, so perhaps they could make a surprise run to a medal next month.

In one week, the Games will be on. The 2022 Winter Olympics, which are taking place in Beijing, will get underway Feb. 2, with the Opening Ceremony occurring Feb. 4.

This is the second time that Beijing is hosting the Olympics, although it's the first time for the Winter Games. In 2008, China's capital city hosted the Summer Olympics.

As with the postponed 2020 Olympics, the Games will be affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Attendances will be be limited, while tickets will be distributed as "part of an adapted programme" and be invite-only. The athletes, meanwhile, will also have COVID-19 protocols to follow as part of a "closed-loop" system that separates those involved from the public.

Here's everything you need to know heading into the 2022 Winter Olympics.

                       

2022 Winter Olympics Info

Start Date: Wednesday, Feb. 2

End Date: Sunday, Feb. 20

Event Schedule: A full schedule of events can be found at Olympics.com.

TV: NBC (U.S.), USA Network (U.S.), BBC (UK), Eurosport (UK)

Live Stream: Peacock (U.S.), NBCOlympics.com (U.S.), BBC Sport (UK)

                        

There are seven sports that are part of the 2022 Winter Olympics—biathlon, bobsled, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating and skiing—and there will be a record 109 events across 15 disciplines.

Seven new events are being contested at the Games: freeski big air (men's and women's), women's monobob, mixed team snowboard cross, mixed team aerials, mixed team short track relay and mixed team ski jumping.

The Olympics will begin with curling matches Feb. 2. It's the only sport that will take place every day of the Winter Games, which run through Feb. 20.

Freestyle skiing and ice hockey will begin Feb. 3, joining curling as the events getting underway prior to the Opening Ceremony.

The first medals will be awarded Feb. 5, when athletes will be battling it out for the gold in biathlon, cross-county skiing, freestyle skiing, ski jumping, speed skating and short-track speed skating.

Among the top athletes to watch at this year's Winter Olympics are two American women: alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin and snowboarder Chloe Kim.

Shiffrin won a gold medal at each of the previous two Winter Games. In 2014, she earned her first Olympic medal when she captured the gold in slalom. Four years later, she won the gold in giant slalom and took the silver in combined. 

At this year's Games, the 26-year-old is planning to compete in all five individual women's events for alpine skiing, giving her plenty of opportunities to add more Olympic gold in Beijing.

Kim was a breakout star at the 2018 Winter Olympics, winning the gold medal in women's halfpipe as a 17-year-old. Now 21, she will be looking to win that event for the second consecutive Games.

Shiffrin and Kim are two of the 223 athletes from the United States heading to the Winter Olympics. The team features 108 women, the second-most to compete for the U.S. at a single Games, according to Tom Schad of USA Today.

Jamaica has qualified for the four-man bobsled event at the Winter Olympics for the first time in 24 years.

Per OlympicTalk, Jamaica got the 28-sled field's final spot based on this season's international results.

In addition, Jamaica has also qualified for three bobsled events for the first time. The country will be competing in the two-man bobsled event as well as the women's monobob, which is making its Olympic debut.

Benjamin Alexander will also make Olympic history as Jamaica's first ever competitor in Alpine skiing.

Jamaica made its first Winter Olympic appearance in 1988, when the Games were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The Caribbean nation competed in the two-man and four-man bobsled events, with the team's exploits inspiring the 1993 Disney film, Cool Runnings.

Jamaica has appeared in every Winter Olympics since then outside of the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy. Bobsled teams competed in 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998 and 2002. The four-man team's last appearance occurred at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

Errol Kerr then became the first Jamaican to compete in the Winter Olympics outside bobsledding when he took part in the men's ski cross, finishing ninth in 2010.

Jamaica's two-man bobsled team returned for the 2014 Games. Carrie Russell and Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian then made history by becoming the first women to represent Jamaica at the Winter Olympics, serving as the two-woman bobsled team in 2018.

Fenlator-Victorian will return this year in the women's monobob as Jamaica competes in four Winter Olympics events for the first time ever.

This year's Games, which will occur in Beijing, are slated to begin on Fri., Feb. 4.

Only "selected" spectators will be allowed to attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

The announcement came after Beijing reported its first case of the omicron variant on Saturday.  

Only residents of China who have the required "COVID-19 countermeasures" will be allowed to attend the Winter Games. They will be required to "strictly comply with COVID-19 prevention and control requirements before, during and after watching the Games."

"Given the difficult and complicated work of controlling the epidemic, and to protect the health and safety of those involved with the Games, the original plan of offering tickets to the general public has been altered toward spectators from selected groups," the organizing committee said in a statement.

China already announced that fans from outside the country would not be allowed to attend any events. 

The Olympics will begin on Feb. 4 and will take place in a "closed loop" to keep athletes, coaches and other essential personnel away from the general public. Athletes will also have to be tested every day and wear masks, in addition to other health and safety measures. 

Ahead of his Olympic swan song next month in Beijing, Shaun White finished third in the men's snowboarding halfpipe at the Laax Open in Switzerland on Saturday.

According to NBC Sports OlympicTalk, that marked White's first podium finish since 2018, as he took a three-year break from snowboarding following the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

SHAUN WHITE HAS ARRIVED‼️@usskiteam | #LaaxOpen pic.twitter.com/z2REQjEfVi

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) January 15, 2022

Per OlympicTalk, White is expected to be one of four male snowboarders named to Team USA for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

White told Matt Sullivan of Rolling Stone this week that the 2022 Winter Olympics will "for sure" be the final one of his illustrious career.

The 35-year-old White, who is set to make his fifth Olympic appearance, is the most decorated snowboarder in Olympic history.

He is one of only two male snowboarders to win three Olympic medals, and all three of those medals are gold.

White made his Olympic debut in Turin, Italy, in 2006 and won gold, and he followed it up with another gold medal at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

After shockingly finishing off the podium in fourth at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, White returned to the top of the sport in 2018 in PyeongChang by winning his third halfpipe gold.

OlympicTalk noted that White played it somewhat safe Saturday, as he cruised on his second run since he was already assured of being the top-finishing American.

He also didn't attempt a double cork 1440, which is the trick that helped him finish atop the podium four years ago.

Meanwhile, Beijing favorite Ayumu Hirano of Japan hit consecutive 1440s and won the event with a score of 93.25, while White scored an 84.

Entering his final Olympics, White seems to be favoring health and availability, and the fact that he was still able to finish third without pulling out his best stuff could bode well for his chances of medaling.

If neither White nor any other American finishes on the podium in men's halfpipe in Beijing, it will mark only the second time that has happened since snowboarding was introduced to the Olympic program in 1998.

While no NHL players will be competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics, some of the league's biggest prospects will take center stage for USA Hockey when the Games kick off next month in Beijing. 

The NHL announced in December that players would not be allowed to compete in the Olympics amid a rise in COVID-19 cases around the league and a pause that impacted the 2021-22 season schedule.

While it's disappointing that NHL players won't be participating in this year's Olympics, here is the list of players that will be representing the United States under head coach David Quinn and general manager John Vanbiesbrouck on foreign soil:

Forwards

• Nick Abruzzese: Harvard, NCAA (Toronto Maple Leafs)
• Ken Agostino: Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, KHL 
• Matty Beniers: Michigan, NCAA (Seattle Kraken)
• Brendan Brisson: Michigan, NCAA (Vegas Golden Knights)
• Noah Cates: Minnesota-Duluth, NCAA (Philadelphia Flyers)
• Sean Farrell: Harvard, NCAA (Montreal Canadiens)
• Sam Hentges: St. Cloud State, NCAA (Minnesota Wild)
• Matthew Knies: Minnesota, NCAA (Toronto Maple Leafs)
• Marc McLaughlin: Boston College, NCAA (Undrafted UFA)
• Ben Meyers: Minnesota, NCAA (Undrafted UFA)
• Andy Miele: Nizhny Novgorod, KHL
• Brian O'Neill: Helsingin Jokerit, KHL
• Nick Shore: HC Sibir Novosibirsk, KHL 
• Nathan Smith: Minnesota State, NCAA (Winnipeg Jets) 

Defensemen

• Brian Cooper: IK Oskarshamn, SHL 
• Brock Faber: Minnesota, NCAA (Los Angeles Kings)
• Drew Helleson: Boston College, NCAA (Colorado Avalanche)
• Steven Kampfer: Ak Bars Kazan, KHL
• Aaron Ness: Providence Bruins, AHL
• Nick Perbix: St. Cloud State, NCAA (Tampa Bay Lightning)
• Jake Sanderson, North Dakota, NCAA (Ottawa Senators)
• David Warsofsky: ERC Ingolstadt, DEL

Goaltenders

• Drew Commesso: Boston University, NCAA (Chicago Blackhawks)
• Strauss Mann: Skelleftea AIK, SHL
• Pat Nagle: Lehigh Valley Phantoms, AHL

Roster Highlights

Team USA is highlighted by many college athletes, including Beniers, Sanderson, Faber and Commesso. Beniers is arguably the best player on the roster. 

The Massachusetts native was drafted second overall by the Seattle Kraken in 2021 after an impressive freshman season at Michigan coupled with highlight performances on the USNTDP Juniors team. 

Beniers, a forward, tallied 10 goals and 14 assists in 24 games during his freshman season with the Wolverines in 2020-21. In 22 games this season, the 19-year-old has 12 goals and 14 assists. 

In addition to being named to the Olympic roster, Beniers has also represented the United States on several occasions, including the World Junior Championship and the U17 and U18 teams. 

Like Beniers, Sanderson, a defenseman, figures to be one of the most impactful players on the U.S. roster. He was drafted fifth overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2020 and has spent the last two seasons at the University of North Dakota. 

Sanderson notched two goals and 13 assists in 22 games as a freshman and has six goals and 16 assists in 17 games for The Fighting Hawks this season. 

The 19-year-old has also represented the U.S. many times on the U17, U18 and U20 teams. 

Faber is another impressive defenseman out of the University of Minnesota. He was selected in the second round of the 2020 draft by the Los Angeles Kings and is in his second season with the Golden Gophers. 

Faber has two goals and nine assists in 20 games this season. He has also represented the United States on the U17, U18 and U20 teams. 

Meanwhile, Commesso figures to be the Americans' top goaltender. The Boston University product, who was a second-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020, has appeared in 19 games for the Terriers this season, posting a 2.67 goals-against average and .907 save percentage. 

This U.S. roster also features several players who have spent time in the NHL, including Agostino, Warsofsky, Shore and Kampfer. 

The 2022 United States Figure Skating Championships continued Friday with two events from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. 

After a three-event day on Thursday, today's scheduled featured the rhythm dance and ladies championship free skate. 

The rhythm dance was an opportunity to get a first look at the pairings of Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue; and Madison Chock and Evan Bates. Those two teams finished first and second in the ice dance competition last year, with Hubbell and Donohue coming out on top thanks to their showing in the free dance. 

Chock and Bates got the early advantage in the competition with an impressive 91.94 score in the rhythm dance. Hubbell and Donohue were a close second with an 89.39. No one else is within eight points of second place.

The ladies championship was ensured to crown a new winner. Defending champion Bradie Tennell was unable to compete because of a foot injury that forced her to withdraw from the Championships in December. 

Mariah Bell led the way after Thursday's short program with a score of 75.55. Karen Chen, Alysa Liu, Isabeau Levito and Lindsay Thorngren rounded out the top five with scores over 70. 

Bell carried her positive momentum into the free skate. She posted the top score with her routine to win gold at the U.S. Championships for the first time in her career. 

Here are the full results from Friday's action, as well as a look at the remaining schedule for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships over the next two days. 

                 

Championship Ice Dance: Rhythm Dance (Top 5; Free Dance Still to Come)

1. Madison Chock and Evan Bates, 91.94

2. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, 89.39

3. Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, 80.85

4. Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker, 79.39

5. Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, 77.90

Full results here. 

             

Championship Ladies: Free Skate (Top 5)

1. Mariah Bell, 140.70 (216.25 total points)

2. Karen Chen, 139.3 (213.85)

3. Isabeau Levito, 139.75 (210.75) 

4. Gabriella Izzo, 120.60 (188.11)

5. Lindsay Thorngren, 116.16 (186.38)

Full results here. 

               

Remaining Schedule (All times ET)

Saturday, Jan. 8

3 p.m.: Championship Ice Dance / Free Dance

6:45 p.m.: Championship Men / Short Program

8:25 p.m.: Championship Pairs / Free Skate

        

Sunday, Jan. 9

12:15 p.m.: Championship Men / Free Skate

      

Recap

Chock and Bates put together one of the best performances of their career on Friday. Their score in the rhythm dance was the highest ever by a pair at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, per NBC Olympics. 

Watched this lift about 20 times to just figure out HOW?!@chockolate02 @Evan_Bates | #ToyotaUSChamps22 pic.twitter.com/kAN00YvMKa

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) January 7, 2022

Last year, Chock and Bates set the pace in this event with a score of 90.10, but their lead was only .41 points. Hubbell and Donohue erased that deficit in the free dance with a score of 134.90—two points better than their rivals (132.83)—to get the win. 

Both times Chock and Bates have won at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships (2015, 2020) they had the top score in the rhythm dance and free dance. 

The door remains open for Hubbell and Donohue to capture their fourth win at this event in the past five years. They put together a clean routine to stay close to Chock and Bates after their record-setting performance. 

This element is kind of INCREDIBLE. 🤯@MadiHubbell @ZachTDonohue | #ToyotaUSChamps22 pic.twitter.com/5zvECMWqIg

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) January 7, 2022

In the ladies singles competition, Bell came into the day with little margin for error. She was in a position to medal last year after finishing third in the short program, but she dropped to fifth after her free skate. 

This time around, Bell left no doubt that she is ready to take the next step in her career. The 25-year-old posted the top score in the free skate (140.70) to finish almost three points ahead of Chen. 

It's a GOLDEN Hallelujah! ✨@MariahBell96 is taking home her first national championship title. #ToyotaUSChamps22 pic.twitter.com/SLOeaTxlu7

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) January 8, 2022

Per NBC Olympics, Bell is the oldest woman to win the ladies singles title at the U.S. Championships in 95 years. Beatrix Loughran was 26 years old when she won her third of three straight titles in 1927. 

Chen's opportunity to pass Bell was undone when she was unable to fully rotate on multiple jumps during her routine, prompting the judges to deduct points from her final score. 

An artist on ice.@Karebearsk8's free skate that brought her silver. 🥈@USFigureSkating | #ToyotaUSChamps22 pic.twitter.com/C9AwelBtek

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) January 8, 2022

Levito actually posted the second-highest score in the free skate to jump up a spot and claim the bronze medal. The 14-year-old was making her senior debut at the United States Championships this week. 

Isabeau Levito‼️

Remember the name of this 14 year old.@USFigureSkating | #ToyotaUSChamps22 pic.twitter.com/Vj3SLCI4AQ

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) January 8, 2022

This event was missing one major competitor, as Alysa Liu announced on Instagram (h/t USA Today's Tom Schad) that she had to withdraw earlier in the day because of a positive COVID-19 test. The two-time ladies singles champion was in third place coming out of the short program. 

Now, the focus for Bell, Chen and the other competitors will turn to the Olympics. The U.S. team that will represent the country in Beijing for the 2022 Winter Games is expected to be announced no later than Jan. 10. 

Longtime International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound addressed the possibility of canceling or postponing the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Pound told USA Today's Christine Brennan on Monday that the chances of the Games not being played as scheduled are "very slim."

Pound was also asked about potentially postponing the Winter Olympics instead of canceling them, similar to the Tokyo Olympics that were moved from summer 2020 to 2021. Pound said he believes that things are too far along to postpone the Games and it will take a real turn of events for that to happen.

"I don't think these things are postponable," he said. "In almost every respect the arrow has left the bow. They're going to start Feb. 4 and it would take a real upset of some sort to change that."

Pound noted that there will be public uncertainty about the Winter Olympics. But as far as he's concerned, everything is moving forward as planned.

"I think there will be uncertainty surrounding the Games in the public, as far as the ship sailing," he said, "but right now, the lines are cast off and the boat is leaving the dock, unless Armageddon happens and public health authorities say we lock down every country. At that point, it changes the entire paradigm."

Pound admitted that the continuous spread of the omicron variant is reason for concern, so he understands national Olympic leaders wondering about the possibility of canceling or postponing the Games.

"It's a cloud out there and you have to be alert to that possibility with a variant that is so easily transmissible," he said.

"There certainly are going to be athletes out there competing and cases will crop up. The question is, how many will it be, and does it amount to a tsunami that says it is no longer feasible to hold these Olympic Games?"

Though Pound expects the Olympics to be held as scheduled, the pandemic will have a major impact on at least one competition in Beijing. The NHL announced that it will not be sending players to compete in the men's hockey tournament.

United States skier Mikaela Shiffrin won't be able to take part in this week's World Cup giant slalom and slalom races in Austria due to a positive COVID-19 test. 

Shiffrin announced her positive test on Twitter, adding that she is "doing well" and is "following protocol" in isolation: 

👋, I wanted to let you all know that I’m doing well, but unfortunately I had a positive COVID test. I’m following protocol and isolating, & I will miss Lienz. Best of luck to my teammates…I’ll be cheering for you. Thank you all for your support. I’ll see you in the new year. 🤍 pic.twitter.com/YxZnwWP6f1

— Mikaela Shiffrin ⛷️ (@MikaelaShiffrin) December 27, 2021

Per the Associated Press, Shiffrin joins Lara Gut-Behrami, Katharina Liensberger and Alice Robinson as skiers who have had to miss recent events due to COVID issues. 

Shiffrin was scheduled to compete on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. She is leading the Alpine Ski World Cup overall standings with 750 total points. 

Sofia Goggia ranks second with 635 points, but the AP noted the slalom and giant slalom were Shiffrin's best chances to maintain or increase that advantage because Goggia "has been virtually unbeatable in the speed events of downhill and super-G."

Speaking to reporters in November, Shiffrin said her plan for the Olympics is to "compete in every event I qualify for," but admitted that could change based on how her body responds. 

I'm planning to race everything, but we'll know a lot more closer to the Games. When I went to South Korea (for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics), I competed in the giant slalom race while still expecting to compete in everything. But after the slalom competition, I realised just how exhausting the previous six days had been. At that point I had to make a decision; [we decided] it wouldn't have been safe to race the Super-G or slalom at that point. So we needed to regroup and that's when we changed the program, and it could be a very similar thing in China.

There's no indication at this point that Shiffrin's positive test will impact her preparation for the Winter Olympics. 

The 2022 Games are scheduled to take place from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20 in Beijing. Shiffrin has won three Olympic medals in her career, including gold in the slalom (2014) and giant slalom (2018).