Olympic ice hockey: Worth watching even without the NHL
Chuck Penfold
February 13, 2018
For the first time since 1994, the world's best players won't be at the Olympics. While the NHL's absence detracts from the talent pool, the men's ice hockey tournament could be one of the most interesting in years.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
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With all due respect to the Russians and perhaps the Americans, Canada went into the last two Olympic hockey tournaments as the clear favorites and delivered – winning gold both at home in Vancouver in 2010 and in Sochi – the one the Russians were supposed to win, in 2014.
Apart from the hiccups that occurred at the first Winter Games involving National Hockey League (NHL) players in Nagano in 1998 and in Torino in 2006, Canada has been dominant in the tournament, having also beaten the Americans on their home ice in Salt Lake City in 2002. That's obviously a good thing if you happen to be Canadian, but not if you are a neutral fan.
The tournament in Pyeongchang, though, promises to be a completely different story. For the first time since 1994 the NHL is not shutting down for a couple of weeks to allow its players to take part in the Olympics, and although this disappointed many fans, some are coming around to the idea that this could be one of the most interesting Olympic hockey tournaments in years.
Difficult to gauge
This is because for the first time in a long time, the outcome is pretty unpredictable. In 2010 and 2014 even the casual fan would have been able to figure out who the favorites were, with no more than a cursory look at the nationalities of players on NHL rosters.
But this time, the general managers of hockey's top five or six nations in particular have really had to do their homework as they set about putting together what they believe are their countries' best-possible teams.
The Canadian federation, for example, was working on what was long a "Plan B" a year and a half before the start of the tournament. Hockey Canada appointed former Olympian Sean Burke (1988, 1992) as their national team's general manager all the way back in mid-2017.
Without their NHL stars like Carey Price (left) and Jonathan Toews (right), Canada may not have things all their own wayImage: REUTERS
This is also true of the Russians, with the most recognizable names internationally being two-time Stanley Cup champion Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Kovalchuk, and maybe Vadim Shipachyov who in October bolted from the Vegas Golden Knights, three games into their inaugural NHL season.
The KHL as the main talent pool
However, the Russians do look to have an edge on the rest, largely due to the fact that their country is the base for what is widely regarded as the second-best league in the world, the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
The KHL is so strong that, not only does it provide the entire roster for the Russian team (who will be officially be competing not as Russians but under a "neutral" flag), but it is also where more than half of the players on Team Canada and the Czech Republic, as well as several of the Swedes and Finns earn their money. You'll even find that the US team has dipped into the KHL for four of its players.
The Swedes and the Finns, due to their strong domestic leagues could well be capable of challenging the Russians for Olympic gold and, due to their sheer depth of talent – and preparation – defending champions Canada, must not be written off either.
The US victory over the Soviets in Lake Placid in 1980 was one of the biggest upsets in sporting historyImage: Getty Images/S. Powell
Surprise package?
What nobody really knows this time is how these top teams will compare when they hit the ice – or what previously unknown players could emerge in Pyeongchang as national heroes and international stars. Or could a new incarnation of the "Miracle on Ice" be on the cards – when a team of American college kids beat the otherwise dominant Soviets in Lake Placid in 1980?
Much-improved hosts
Also interesting will be to see how the host South Koreans perform. South Korea is a long way from being among the game's elite but, to their credit, when they found out they would host the 2018 Games, they put great efforts into raising the level of their national team. Led by their head coach, Stanley Cup champion Jim Paek, along with his assistant, Richard Park (more than 700 games played in the NHL), the South Koreans have just won promotion to the top level of international hockey and earned their right to compete at the world championship (to be hosted by Denmark in May) for the first time.
Could Germany be among the medals?
Finally, just to drive home the point about how open this tournament is: a Canadian radio commentator was recently heard speculating that maybe Germany could win gold. This comment was clearly made with tongue placed firmly in cheek. For despite the resurgence of the national team under head coach Marco Sturm and the presence of NHL veteran Christian Ehrhoff, given their relatively shallow talent pool, Germany are bound to miss their NHL players (seven in total), at least as much as any of their opponents will miss theirs.
German players in the National Hockey League
The National Hockey League was founded 100 years ago, on November 26, 1917. As the NHL celebrates its centennial, we look at some of the best German players to skate in the rinks of the world's top ice hockey league.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA Press/E. Canha
Leon Draisaitl
Picked third overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL's 2014 entry draft, Leon Draisaitl (22) is already a bonafide star. The eight-year, $68-million contract that he signed with the Oilers in the summer is by far the most lucrative penned by a German player. He is the son of Peter, a former German national team player who recently took over as head coach of the team in Leon's hometown, Cologne.
Image: Picture alliance/empics/The Canadian Press/J. Franson
Marco Sturm
Current national team head coach Marco Sturm is the only German to have played more than 1,000 NHL games. He had 251 goals in regular season and playoff matches, playing with a total of 6 NHL teams, including the San Jose Sharks, who drafted him 21st overall in 1996. Here he is seen in the uniform of the Boston Bruins, where he also spent five of his 15 NHL seasons.
Image: picture-alliance/Icon SMI/M. Tureski
Tom Kühnhackl
Last season Tom Kühnhackl's Pittsburgh Penguins became the first NHL team to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in two decades. The Pens' 2010 110th draft pick finally cracked the NHL's club's lineup in the 2015-16 season. Here he is seen on a trip with the Cup to his hometown, Landshut. To his left is his father, Erich, who is one of the all-time greats of German hockey, but never played in the NHL.
Image: picture-alliance/augenklick/Rauchensteiner
Tobias Rieder
Like Tom Kühnhackl, Tobias Rieder hails from the Bavarian town of Landshut, where he also started playing hockey with the local club, EV Landshut. In 2011 the Edmonton Oilers made him their 114th draft pick, but he was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes before playing a single NHL game. He is now in his fourth season with the Arizona Coyotes, as they are now known.
Cologne native Uwe Krupp (right) is the first German to win the Stanley Cup. He scored the Cup-winning goal as the Colorado Avalanche in Game 4 of the 1996 finals against Florida. He was also part of the Detroit Red Wings team that won the title in 2002, however his name was not engraved on the Cup as due to injury, he only appeared in eight regular season and two playoff games.
Image: imago/UPI Photo
Jochen Hecht
Jochen Hecht played a total of 892 regular season and playoff games and scored 200 goals for the St. Louis Blues, the Edmonton Oilers and the Buffalo Sabres. After the 2012-13 season he returned to his hometown to play for DEL club Adler Mannheim, where he spent his final three years as a player. The 40-year-old Hecht is currently an assistant coach with Mannheim.
Image: picture-alliance/Icon SMI/A. Mead
Marcel Goc
Marcel Goc (No. 57) is one of the few Germans to be drafted in the first round (San Jose Sharks, 20th overall in 2001). He played 699 games and scored 80 goals for San Jose, Nashville, Folriday, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. His two brothers Nikolai and Sascha are also professional players. Sascha had a cup of coffee with the New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lighting in the early 2000s.
New York Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss is now on his fourth NHL club, having had previous spells with San Jose, Phoenix and Pittsburgh. It took the 94th overall draft pick several years to establish himself in the NHL, but now the 31-year-old has settled in at the Islanders. He's a longstanding member of the German national team and was part of Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Image: Reuters/USA Today Sports/A. Marlin
Dennis Seidenberg
Thomas Greiss' teammate in Brooklyn, Dennis Seidenberg didn't have to spend quite as much time in the minors, first catching on with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2002. The sixth-round draft choice had some of his best years in Boston, though, recording 11 points in the 2010-11 playoffs to help the Bruins win the Stanley Cup. The German national team player was also part of Team Europe in 2016.
Image: picture-alliance/newscom/B. Greenblatt
Christian Ehrhoff
Offensive defenseman Christian Ehrhoff was the San Jose Sharks' 106th pick in 2001. He went onto play 862 games for six NHL teams. He has made 76 appearances for Germany in numerous tournaments, including the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Olympic Games. Without an NHL contract, he returned to Germany in 2016 to play for the Cologne Sharks of the DEL.
Image: Getty Images
Olaf Kölzig
"Olie the Goalie" as he was known in North America wasn't all that German. He was born to German parents after they had emigrated to South Africa, but he grew up in Canada. He spent the bulk of his career with the Washington Capitals and he made 18 appearances for Germany, taking part in the 1998 and 2006 Winter Olympics, as well as the 1996 and 2004 World Cups of Hockey.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Gilliland
Stefan Ustorf
It's been reported that Stefan Ustorf was the person who discovered that Olaf Kölzig was actually eligible to play for Germany. The subject came up while the two were teammates with the Washington Capitals. Ustorf played 54 games for the Caps between 1995 and 1997. The centerman was captain of the German national team and is now the head of player development at DEL club Eisbären Berlin.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/T.Eisenhuth
Philipp Grubauer
Philipp Grubauer has followed in Olaf Kölzig's footsteps at Washington, but so far, the 26-year-old hasn't been able to get past longtime Caps starting goalie Braden Holtby. He was named to Team Europe for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey but did not see any action. He's also a member of the German national team, most recently having played in two matches at the 2017 World Championship in Cologne.
