Hurricanes skaters on edge as NHL weighs player participation in Beijing Olympics
Frederik Andersen badly wants to be a part of an historic hockey appearance by Denmark in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Teuvo Teravainen has long dreamed of playing in the Olympics, perhaps bringing a gold medal back to Finland for the first time.
For Nino Niederreiter, playing in the 2022 Beijing Olympics would mark a return, having first competed for Switzerland in Sochi in 2014 before being denied another chance in 2018 when the NHL opted out.
But those Carolina Hurricanes players and others are quickly coming to accept that NHL players probably will not be allowed to compete in Beijing. COVID-19, possible lengthy quarantines in China for those who test positive for the virus, and the need to make up postponed NHL games during the February window set aside for the Olympics, will likely result in the NHL and NHL Players Association deciding to have the players stay put.
The NHL and NHLPA has said a final decision should be announced soon.
“If we do get to go it will be a huge bonus,” Andersen said Monday. “It’s something I haven’t done yet. Obviously with Denmark it’s the first chance to go this year.
“It obviously would be a cool experience. Obviously right now it’s definitely very unpredictable what happens tomorrow, so I’m trying not to get caught up in everything and just go about my business and think about what I can control.”
Denmark qualified for its first Olympics in August, beating Norway 2-0 in a final qualification round. Andersen, as consistently good as any goalie in the NHL this season, likely would be Denmark’s starter in net.
The Canes should be well represented if the NHL does allow its players to go to Beijing — and they then make the decision to go.
Both Teravainen and Sebastian Aho figure to be on Finland’s roster (Aho has already been selected). Niederreiter appears a lock for Switzerland, and other potential Olympians could include defenseman Jaccob Slavin (USA) and forwards Andrei Svechnikov (Russia), Martin Necas (Czech Republic), Vincent Trocheck (USA) and Jesper Fast (Sweden).
The uncertainty of COVID-19
The pandemic has made so much uncertain. Players continue to be added daily to the NHL COVID list — defenseman Brendan Smith was placed in the protocol Monday, the eighth Canes player currently on the list.
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour, like everyone else, is awaiting a final call on the Olympics, but said bypassing the Games and making up postponed games might be the “safe decision.”
Yes, players are aching to experience an Olympics. But a nightmare scenario for an Olympian would be testing positive while in China and being forced to quarantine for, say, three to five weeks before being allowed to leave the country.
“I don’t know who would want to go under those circumstances,” said Brind’Amour, who competed for Canada in 1998. “I put myself in that situation, with family, there’s zero chance you’d run the risk of being stuck over there. That alone makes it not too enticing.”
Not the first time players miss the Olympics
The NHL withheld its players from the 2018 Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, after disputes with the International Olympic Committee over costs incurred by the players for such items as travel and insurance. There also were concerns about injuries during the Olympics that would have a big impact on an NHL team’s play after the Olympics.
Aho and Teravainen were hopeful of being a part of Team Finland in 2018 but that went by the boards for the NHL guys. Maybe 2022, they said then.
“It’s always been my dream to play in the Olympics,” Teravainen said Monday. “As a hockey player that’s one of the biggest places you can be. To play for your national team is something that is awesome.”
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Finland has twice taken back silver medals from the Olympics — in 1988 and 2006 — and has been a bronze-medal winner four times, including Sochi in 2014. Aho won a gold medal for Finland in the 2016 World Junior Championship and both Aho and Teravainen wanted to shine on the big stage for their home country.
“It’s too bad,” Teravainen said. “I really haven’t had a chance to play and it looks again like there’s no chance. It’s not great.”
And if the NHL guys are allowed to go, would they still go? That’s another big question.
“It is a concern, being stuck over there through the whole quarantine,” Niederreiter said Monday. “But at the end of the day when you have a chance to represent your country its a huge honor and you want to do it. At the same time, there’s a lot at stake.
“We just need to see what the decision will be and whatever the case will be, we’ll see how it goes.”
