Watch Winter Olympic 2018 Ice Hockey Live TV >>>>
The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea are right around the corner! That means it's time to watch sports you might not have seen in four years. To help you feel at least a little more informed—either to impress your friends or fake your way through a conversation with an actual expert—SI will be providing rookie's guides to each of the 15 sports. These will be published daily, Monday through Friday, from December 4-22. When the puck drops on the men's Olympic hockey tournament, things will look pretty different from just four years ago in Sochi. For starters, the NHL won't be sending any of its players for the first time since 1998, a matter further complicated by the Russian doping ban and the country's KHL still figuring out if it will allow its players to participate in the Games. (Russian athletes can still compete, but as an 'Olympic Athlete from Russia.') It's worth noting that none of the Russian hockey players were accused of wrongdoing in the IOC's investigation. So who gets to go? At this point, it looks like rosters will be made up of somewhat familiar names—think Brian Gionta—and up-and-coming players from the NCAA and junior ranks to go with little-known overseas pros. To be eligible for the Olympics, players must meet two International Ice Hockey Federation requirements: Each player must be under the jurisdiction of an IIHF member national association and be a citizen of the country he represents. Most of the familiar faces on the women's side will be in PyeongChang as the U.S. looks for its first gold-medal finish since 1998, when the game was approved as an Olympic event. The rivalry between the United States and Canada is as strong as ever, and sure to provide plenty of highlights. Canada has had a stranglehold on the top of the Olympic podium since the Nagano Games: Coming into South Korea, the Canadians have taken the last four Olympic gold medals, including gold medal game wins over Team USA in 2002, 2010 and 2014. But the U.S. has similarly owned the World Championships in recent years, having met the Canadians in finals of every World Championship tournament since 1990, with Team USA winning the last four. As part of a lead-up to the 2018 Games, Canada went 5-1 in a set of friendly matchups with the U.S. But the Americans went undefeated in a title run at the Four Nations Cup in November, with two victories over their northern neighbors.
Rules
For the casual hockey fan, there are several small but notable differences from the NHL game: IIHF games feature a wider ice surface (100 feet vs. 85), larger rosters (teams can dress 20 skaters as opposed to 18), automatic icing, no restrictions on goalies playing the puck behind the net (goodbye, trapezoid!) and an ejection for players that fight. A full breakdown can be found on the IIHF website. When it comes to the women's game, there is no checking allowed, but don't mistake that for a boring game—it's just as physical as one would expect hockey to be. In terms of gameplay, things mostly line up with what you see from watching NHL games. One thing to be wary of: The clock on the 20-minute periods counts up instead of down, which can take some getting used to. Maybe the biggest change comes in the form of the shootout. If a game remains tied after a 10-minute overtime period, teams go to a three-round shootout. If the tie is still unbroken after those three rounds, it becomes a sudden victory situation, in which a team can send out any player to shoot any number of times. If you'll recall, it's how we ended up with The Legend of T.J. Sochi, and once decided a gold medal game. The bracket consists of 12 teams, with autobids going to the top eight IIHF-ranked teams following the 2015 World Championships (Sweden, Finland, Canada, OAR, the United States, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Slovakia), plus a berth for host country South Korea. Slovenia, Germany and Norway gained entry through subsequent tournaments. The women's tournament features eight teams, with five berths coming via IIHF rankings (U.S., Canada, Finland, OAR and Sweden) and one to host South Korea, with Switzerland and Japan winning qualification tournaments.
How does the tournament work?
Men's
Teams are broken up into three groups: A (Canada, Czech Republic, Switzerland and South Korea), B (OAR, U.S., Slovakia and Slovenia) and C (Sweden, Finland, Norway and Germany). Each team will play a game against each team in its group, with three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime or shootout win and one for an OT/shootout loss. Once group play is over, teams are seeded by group position and points earned, with the top four teams getting a bye into the quarterfinals of the winner-take-all tournament.
Women's
The eight teams are separated into Group A, made up of the top-four IIHF-ranked teams (U.S, Canada, Finland, OAR) and B (Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea). After group play, thing's get a little hectic:The top two teams from Group A get a bye and top seeds in the semifinals. The third-place team in Group A plays the second-place team from Group B in the quarterfinals, while the fourth-place Group A team and top Group B finisher face-off for a spot in the semis. The quarterfinal losers play for fifth place and the bottom. Group B teams duke it out in the seventh-place game. What will the jerseys look like?Should the KHL participate, Russia gets the way-too-early-to-actually-tell nod in the men's bracket, though without knowing who will be on the final rosters, it's anybody's tournament to win. For the women, it's easy to look ahead to a U.S.-Canada showdown for the gold, though Finland and Russia have made enormous strides since the 2014 Games, with the Finns on the cusp of the upper echelon of teams. The Russians aren't quite there yet, and will have a tough time cracking the top three.For the first time in 30 years, professional hockey players won’t skate for Team USA at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. This spring, the NHL announced it would not allow its players to participate in the Games. That news came as a huge disappointment to professional players and many fans. To young players, however, it came as welcome news.“It’s exciting for me […] and other college players who could represent their country on the biggest stage,” said Troy Terry. Terry, a forward for the University of Denver, is on the shortlist to make it on the Team USA roster, along with Boston University’s Jordan Greenway. Both are aware the opportunity to impress on an international stage is coming early in their careers.“I always wanted to play on an Olympic stage,” Greenway said. “Everyone does growing up, I just didn’t think it was going to come this soon and I couldn’t be more happy.”Terry and Greenway are both also aware that they may not be hockey fans’ first choice for the team.“I know some people would like to see the NHL guys, but it creates a really interesting dynamic with college guys,” Terry said. He references the 1980 ‘Miracle’ team, underdogs who were also college-aged, but went on to defeat Russia and win gold. University of Wisconsin men’s hockey coach Tony Granato will lead the team in PyeongChang.“I’m very confident that we’ll be able to put together an exciting team of players that will represent our country the right way,” Granato said. Players such as Terry and Greenway gained confidence on the U.S. National Junior Team, which won gold at the Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in 2017. They and Granato now have their eyes on the podium in 2018.
Team USA will likely announce its final roster in early January. It’s possible some NHL names will appear on the list if retired players decide to return for the Games.The day the women find out if they’re going to play for Canada’s Olympic hockey team packs an emotional wallop. Elation, tinged with empathy for those who didn’t make the cut, was on the faces of the 23 players introduced Friday as the team chosen to defend gold in Pyeongchang, South Korea."There are two major emotional moments in a year," forward Brianne Jenner said. "The first one is finding out you’re an Olympian and the second, of course, is how you do at the Olympics. Canada’s roster includes 14 players from the team that beat the United States 3-2 in an overtime thriller to win gold in Sochi, Russia in 2014. Canadian women have won four straight Olympic gold medals in women’s hockey. Twenty-eight players were invited in May to try out for the 2018 edition. Based in Calgary, they’ve been training and playing a full schedule of games since August. Defenders Halli Krzyzaniak of Neepawa, Man., and Micah Zandee-Hart of Saanichton, B.C., and forward Sarah Potomak of Aldergrove, B.C., were the last cuts from the team. Potomak’s sister Amy and defender Erin Ambrose of Keswick, Ont., were released Nov. 20."It’s such a hard process," forward Marie-Philip Poulin said. "It’s bitter and sweet. We’re like a family. To see some girls leave, it’s always hard." Olympic women’s hockey rosters have increased from three goaltenders and 18 skaters in 2014, to three and 20 in 2018. Head coach Laura Schuler, a forward for Canada in the 1998 Olympics, chose to go with six defenders and 14 forwards, instead of seven and 13."We made decisions based on wanting to make sure that we can produce offence as we go forward, absolutely," Schuler said."When we made the final decisions, and we looked at what we needed to win gold, we felt these 23 people were going to be the 23 that we needed to have on the roster."Goaltenders Shannon Szabados of Edmonton, Genevieve Lacasse of Kingston, Ont., and Ann-Renee Desbiens of Malbaie, Que., have known since May they will be going to Pyeongchang. But they will continue to compete for coveted starts at the Winter Games, which open Feb. 9. Szabados, defender Meaghan Mikkelson of St. Albert, Alta., forwards Poulin of Beauceville, Que., Haley Irwin of Thunder Bay, Ont., Rebecca Johnston of Sudbury, Ont., and Meghan Agosta of Ruthven, Ont., also won gold in Vancouver in 2010. Agosta, who will be a four-time Olympian, is the lone member of the team that won gold in 2006 in Turin, Italy. Among the players selected to the Olympic team for the first time in their careers, forward Jill Saulnier of Halifax said she burst into tears when told she’s wear the Maple Leaf."It was emotional," she said. "I haven’t been sleeping at all, just thinking about this moment."Saulnier, 25, wasn’t named to Canada’s world championship roster in 2017, so she arrived in Calgary knowing she had to play herself up Hockey Canada’s depth chart."I let that propel me forward and motivate me that much more to be here holding my jersey today," she said. Defender Brigette Lacquette of Mallard, Man., and Bailey Bram of St. Anne, Man., also received good news four years after they were the among the last cuts from the 2014 team."Having all the hard work pay off, it’s definitely very special for me," Lacquette said. Canada went 5-1 against the U.S. in a six-game pre-Olympic series, but lost twice to the Americans in November’s Four Nations Cup in Florida. The Canadian women have played a regular schedule of games against male midget triple-A teams and have five remaining in January before departing for Pyeongchang. After a short holiday break, the women return to Calgary on Dec. 28 to continue preparations."It's the most amazing day," Bram said of the news. "It means everything, from the time I started playing hockey my dream was obviously to represent Canada at the Olympics, so to finally make that dream happen is something I can't even put into words."Bram started playing hockey as a youngster on a backyard rink with her brothers and says her dream to play for Team Canada was sparked in 2007 when Winnipeg hosted the World Championships."I remember going to watch the girls and I was just like 'this is the coolest thing I've ever seen,'" she said. "To be able to represent Canada and wear the jersey is something that's second to none."This won't be Larocque's first time playing at the Olympic level — she was on the ice for the 2014 games in Sochi, when the team beat the United States in overtime to clinch the gold medal — but this will be Bram and Lacquette's first time representing Canada at the Olympic games. Bram says she grew up just down the road from Larocque and calls her an inspiration.
"She would play with my older brothers and she kind of paved the way for me," said Bram. "She's someone who I always looked up to or went to for advice — it's definitely pretty special to be sharing this moment with her."
'You're on edge everyday'.Tryouts for Team Canada started in May with a month-long bootcamp in Fredericton, N.B., which Bram says consisted of 12- to 13-hour days doing everything from weight training and track to swimming.
From there 28 players were picked to move onto training held in Calgary starting in August. The roster was then whittled down to the final 23 players, and the final three cuts included a fourth Manitoba player, defence Halli Krzyzaniak of Neepawa, Man.
"You're on edge everyday because you can get cut at any point," said Bram, who also tried out for the last Olympics and came painfully close to making the team. "For me, to be the last cut in 2014, it was definitely something that was pretty tough, so it was something that was in the back of my mind a lot."I didn't want it to happen again so I used it as motivation and it kind of pushed me to work a little hard every day." The Canadian team will ice 14 forwards, six defence and three goalies in the Feb. 10-22 tournament."I would like to congratulate all 23 of our players that have made our roster," said Canada head coach Laura Schuler at Friday's announcement. "I want to thank them for their hard work, their commitment … but more importantly, I want to thank them for their passion and commitment to learning. Defending champions Canada have named 14 of the team which claimed the gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi on their women's squad for Pyeongchang 2018. The Canadian side will bid for a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal at the Games in Pyeongchang, due to run from February 9 to 25. A total of 23 players have been selected on the team, which also features six of the victorious squad at Vancouver 2010. Meghan Agosta is in line to make her fourth Olympics appearance, while Shannon Szabados, Meaghan Mikkelson, Haley Irwin, Rebecca Johnston and Marie-Philip Poulin are all set to attend their third Games."It is a tremendous accomplishment to be chosen to represent your country at the Olympic Games," Hockey Canada chief executive Tom Renney said."We are thrilled with the 23 players selected and we know they will wear the Maple Leaf with great pride and will leave nothing to chance in their preparation for Pyeongchang."Canada, who have won four of the five women's ice hockey events since the sport first featured at the Olympics at Nagano 1998, have been drawn in Group A of the women's tournament along with the United States and Finland. An Olympic Athletes from Russia team was also placed in Group A but doubts remain over whether they will be able to play or not following the country's doping scandal."It was an extremely difficult decision narrowing down our roster due to the depth of talent on our team; we are excited to move forward with the 23 players chosen to represent Canada at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games," Canada head coach Laura Schuler said."These players have worked hard to earn this moment and we are confident that they will be able to inspire and unite our country as they set their sights on a fifth straight gold medal for Canada." The Russian national men ice hockey team will play to win at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea’s PyeongChang, where they intend to participate under the neutral status, Vladislav Tretiak, the president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RHF), said on Wednesday."Russian athletes made their decision and almost all sports federations plan to participate," Tretiak told journalists. "However, we still do not know the roster.""We have been always setting the highest possible aims and we will be fighting for the first place," Tretiak, who is also the legendary Soviet goaltender indicted in the NHL Hall of Fame, added. Six Russian female ice hockey players, who were banned for life on Tuesday by the International Olympic committee (IOC) on doping abuse allegations, will appeal the decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), he said. "We will be filing appeals against (IOC’s) decisions regarding the Russian female ice hockey players," Tretiak, who is also the legendary Soviet goaltender indicted in the NHL Hall of Fame, told journalists. The world’s governing Olympic body stated on Tuesday that based on the findings of the IOC’s Commission led by Denis Oswald, six Russian ice hockey players, Inna Dyubanok, Ekaterina Lebedeva, Ekaterina Pashkevich, Anna Shibanova, Ekaterina Smolentseva and Galina Skiba, were subjected to sanctions.
According to the IOC, "the six athletes are declared ineligible to be accredited in any capacity for all editions of the Games of the Olympiad and the Olympic Winter Games subsequent to the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014," and they are also "disqualified from the events in which they participated" at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The upcoming Olympics, which are 23rd Winter Games, will take place in South Korea’s PyeongChang on February 9-25, 2018. The Russian national men ice hockey team was placed in Group B alongside with the teams from the United States, Slovakia and Slovenia. The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced its decision on December 5 to suspend the Russian national team from taking part in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea’s PyeongChang over multiple doping abuse allegations. The IOC, however, stated that doping-free athletes from Russia might go to the 2018 Olympic Games under the classification of neutral athletes, or the OAR status, which stands for ‘Olympic Athlete from Russia.’ The IOC reserved the right to determine Russian athletes, who will have the right to go to 2018 PyeongChang under the neutral status. Earlier in December, the International Olympic Committee banned the entire country of Russia from competing in the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. While the IOC has allowed individual Russian athletes to play under a neutral banner, the jury is still out on whether the KHL will allow Russian players to play at all. While the decision is still forthcoming, we may have our first look at the jerseys they could wear if enough athletes decide to form a hockey team under the “Olympic Athletes From Russia” banner.The leak comes from Russian website R-Sport, who say the Russian Ice Hockey Federation submitted this design, which showcases a generic hockey player silhouette on top of a red shield, to the IOC. The Olympic rings also are prominent on the shoulder of the reported leak. The template of the jersey is what was scheduled to be the base of Russia’s jersey, minus the famous double eagle coat of arms that they usually wear on their chests. The jersey was leaked to R-Sport by sources “close to the IOC” but translations of the website can only be trusted so far.
Russia will have no presence at all officially by the IOC in the upcoming games. Russian athletes will be under their Olympic delegation and no flag will be presented nor national anthem will play if they medal. As we approach the one-month mark from the start of the Winter Games, we’ll no doubt hear more from the KHL on its decisions to send Russian athletes to the event. If Russian athletes do play men’s and women’s hockey in the Olympics, these could very well be the jerseys we’d see. Only time will tell.
