A guide to the events of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang
By Collin Giuliani // Sports Editor
On Feb. 9, the Opening Ceremony to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, will take place, officially kicking off the XXIII Olympic Winter Games. This is the first ever Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea, and the second ever Olympics held in this country (Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics). With the Olympics set to take place in two weeks, here’s a comprehensive guide to just some of the events set to occur.
MEN’S HOCKEY
THE FAVORITE: While Canada has won the gold medal in each of the previous two Olympics and in three of the past four, the ban of NHL athletes puts somewhat of a dent in Canada’s quest for a three-peat. Instead, the Olympic Athletes from Russia enter this tournament as the favorites, as not only was the men’s hockey team one of the few teams unaffected by the doping scandal (six Russian women’s hockey players were suspended), but the Kontinental Hockey League will take a break between Jan. 29 and Feb. 25 to allow its athletes to participate. Russia has not medaled since the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, but has a good shot to break their slump this year with professional athletes. While the Olympic Athletes from Russia will be impacted by the NHL ban, as players like Alexander Ovechkin will not be able to compete, the ban will not impact them as much as their North American competitors; during the 2017 IIHF World Championship, 68 percent of the Russian roster that finished in third was comprised of non-NHL players.
THE SLEEPER: Since the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Finland has won six medals in eight Olympics. However, while Finland has won the bronze medal four times (including each of the past two Olympics) and the silver medal twice (most recently in 2006), they have never won the gold. For the team ranked fourth in the world entering these Olympics according to the International Ice Hockey Federation, that could change in 2018. Most recently, Finland placed fourth at the 2017 IIHF World Championship, knocking off a United States squad in the quarterfinals that was comprised of mainly NHL players, and did this with 76 percent of the roster being comprised of non-NHL players. Finland is consistently near the top of the world, having finished inside the top four in six of the past seven IIHF World Championships, but with the NHL ban, might have their best shot this year of breaking their gold medal drought.
TEAM USA: On April 3, 2017, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stated that the league would not allow its athletes to participate in the Olympics. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly added onto that, stating, “quite frankly, we don’t see what the benefit is from the game standpoint or the league standpoint with respect to Olympic participation.” This is the first time since 1994 that no NHL athletes will be allowed to participate in the Olympics. Because of this, the entire roster is comprised of American players playing in Europe, the American Hockey League, and the NCAA. For some perspective, Brian Gionta, the captain of Team USA, is 38 years old and is a free agent. The makeup of Team USA is drastically different compared to previous years.
OTHER NOTES: South Korea qualified automatically as the host nation, and will be participating in its first Olympics. South Korea is in Group A with Canada, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. This will be unfamiliar territory for South Korea, as not only will they be competing in their first Olympics, but they have never played Switzerland or the Czech Republic. South Korea played Canada for the first time on December 13, and while they only lost 4-2, they were outshot 57-10. While South Korea enters these Olympics as the worst team in the field, there are a few former NHL players on the team, including former Boston Bruins goalie Matt Dalton, former Edmonton Oilers defenseman Alex Plante, and former Edmonton Oilers defenseman Bryan Young.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY
THE FAVORITE/TEAM USA: Canada has won the gold medal at this event in each of the past four Olympics. Since women’s hockey became an Olympic sport in 1998, the only year in which Canada did not win the gold was in 1998, when the United States finished in first. After back-to-back silver medals, including a 3-2 overtime defeat to Canada in the gold medal game in 2014, it’s gold or bust for Team USA this year, as they enter this tournament as the favorites. Despite the shocking exclusion of Alex Carpenter, a 23 year old forward who finished second in the National Women’s Hockey League last season with 29 points for the Boston Pride, Team USA brings back 80 percent of the roster that finished in first at the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship. The top three goal-scorers from that competition were Americans, and all three of them (Kendall Coyne, tournament MVP Brianna Decker, and Hilary Knight) return for the 2018 Winter Olympics, while goalie Nicole Hensley, who allowed just two goals during the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship and finished with the tournament’s highest save percentage, also returns. Team USA has won each of the past four world championships, and seven of the past eight, and has a good shot of ending their gold medal drought this year in Pyeongchang.
THE OTHER FAVORITE: It’s not fair to call Canada a sleeper, but in four of the five years that this tournament has been held, the gold medal game has been between the United States and Canada (the lone exception was in 2006, when Canada faced off against Sweden in this game). In the 18 editions of the IIHF Women’s World Championship, the championship match has been played between the USA and Canada all 18 times. At the end of the day, this is a two-horse race between two North American powers. Canada brings back 18 of the 25 that competed in the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship, on the team that lost to the USA in the championship match 3-2 in overtime, and brings back forward Marie-Philip Poulin, who made the all-star team of that championship. There is no sleeper for this event. It will come down to a gold medal match on February 22 between the USA and Canada, like it always does.
OTHER NOTES: On Dec. 12, the IOC banned six Russian hockey players for life. This ban included captain Yekaterina Smolentseva, who finished tied for third in the 2014 Winter Olympics in points scored with six, and tied for the Olympic lead in assists with four. With the Olympic Athletes from Russia competing in Group A (the group comprised of the top four teams in the world rankings, including the USA, Canada, and Finland), considering Russia’s poor performance in the last IIHF Women’s World Championship (a fifth place finish with a goal differential in group play of -14), and considering the six-player lifetime suspension significantly hurting the roster, it will be a question as to whether or not the Olympic Athletes from Russia win a game in this event.
Additionally, South Korea qualified for this event for the first time by virtue of being the host nation. South Korea enters the Olympics ranked 22nd in the world; for some perspective, the second worst team in the tournament, Japan, is ranked ninth. In the most recent edition of the Asian Winter Games in 2017, South Korea finished fourth, behind Japan, China, and Kazakhstan. In their only game of the tournament against an Olympic team (Japan), South Korea lost 3-0, getting outshot 47-19. There is a legitimate question as to whether or not South Korea will score a goal in this tournament.
MEN’S CURLING
THE FAVORITE: Canada enters as the favorites, having won the gold medal in each of the past three Winter Olympics. However, even though the Canadians are currently ranked first in the World Curling Federation Rankings, this is an inexperienced team on the Olympic stage, as none of the players on Canada’s 2014 roster that won the gold medal return for these Olympics.
THE SLEEPER: After finishing in a disappointing fifth place in 2014, Norway, currently ranked third in the world, returns the exact same lineup to Pyeongchang. Norway has won a medal in this event in three out of the last five Olympics, and could return to form in 2018 with an experienced lineup. Norway’s lineup, consisting of Thomas Ulsrud, Torger Nergard, Christoffer Svae, and Havard Vad Petersson, has represented Norway at every Olympics since the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
TEAM USA: John Shuster returns for his fourth Olympic Games, having represented the United States in every Olympics since the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The United States has won just one medal in this event (a bronze medal in 2006), and has placed in the bottom two of the standings in each of the past two Olympics. However, despite winning just four out of 18 games over the past two Olympics, there may be hope for Team USA this year. The United States has made it to the playoffs of each of the past two World Curling Championships (held annually), and is currently ranked fourth in the world.
OTHER NOTES: South Korea qualified automatically as the host nation. This will be the first ever appearance in men’s curling for South Korea. The host nation enters this tournament as heavy underdogs; of the 10 participating teams, South Korea has the lowest ranking in the World Curling Federation Rankings, as the South Koreans enter the Olympics ranked 16th in the world. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan qualified on its own merit for the first time ever. The only other time Japan participated in this event was in the 1998 Olympics; however, as the host nation, Japan automatically qualified for that tournament.
WOMEN’S CURLING
THE FAVORITE: Since women’s curling became an Olympic event in 1998, Canada has won a medal in all five Olympics, including the gold medal in 2014. Despite nobody on Canada having any Olympic experience, Team Canada still enters this event as the heavy favorite to repeat. Canada enters the Olympics as the number one team in the World Curling Federation Rankings, and is coming off of a dominant performance at the 2017 World Women’s Curling Championship, where they went 11-0, won the gold medal, and had the highest shot percentage of any team in the 12-team field.
THE SLEEPER: At the 2014 Olympics, Great Britain won the bronze medal. For the 2018 Olympics, they bring back all but one member from that team, with Eve Muirhead, Anna Sloan, and Vicki Adams coming back for this event. In each of the last three editions of the World Women’s Curling Championship with Muirhead as the skip (captain of the team), Scotland finished in the top five of the standings. With history and experience on their side, don’t be surprised if Great Britain makes it back to the podium.
TEAM USA: The theme with Team USA in this event is inexperience, as no member of the team has any Olympic experience. The good news for the United States is they are entering this event with some momentum, as in the 2017 World Women’s Curling Championship, the United States, led by skip Nina Roth, finished fifth, which was the team’s highest finish in this event since 2013. The bad news is that history is not on their side; Team USA has finished in last in each of the past two Olympics, winning just 3 out of 18 matches, and has never won a medal.
OTHER NOTES: In what can only be described as remarkably consistent, the 10-team field for the 2018 Winter Olympics is the exact same as the field for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The only difference is that Russia is now competing under the Olympic flag, as due to the IOC’s ban of Russia from the Olympics for systemic doping, the Russian athletes will be competing as the Olympic Athletes from Russia.