The men’s hockey tournament is widely considered one of the most popular events of the Winter Olympics.
The hockey festivities kick off Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. ET in Sochi and to get you ready, Sportsnet magazine senior writer Ryan Dixon and Shannon Proudfoot have all 12 nations covered.
Here is your complete guide to the men’s hockey tournament in Sochi.
THE CONTENDERS
Team Canada (Jonathan Toews): Team Canada is more than just Sidney Crosby’s sublime talent. Team Canada is Jonathan Toews—a blend of skill and savvy.
Team Finland (Tuukka Rask): It won’t be easy for Finland to match the firepower of the world’s big guns, but they have one clear advantage with a stable of goalies capable of stealing any game.
Team Sweden (Gabriel Landeskog): Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog isn’t cut from the traditional cloth. He’s not the only one, either, as Sweden’s style seems to be getting nastier by the year.
Team USA (David Backes): Team USA doesn’t offer the all-world skill of other contenders, but the soul of this team is in board-rattling hits and dirty goals from net-front scrums.
Team Russia (Ilya Kovalchuk): The last Olympics were an abysmal failure for Team Russia. These Olympics cannot be—and the pressure of making the home country proud falls most heavily in the man who chose to return.
The other guys (Zdeno Chara, Petr Nedved, Mark Streit): Slovakia, Switzerland and the Czech Republic have slim chances at the gold medal, but won’t fear matching up with the world’s superpowers.
THE ANALYSIS
The non-fan’s guide to Olympic hockey (Ryan Dixon) Underdogs, sudden heroes and the difference between Canadian fans and Canadiens fans: the non-hockey fan’s guide to Olympic hockey.
Olympic hockey power rankings: Who’s No. 1? (Jeff Simmons) Canada, Sweden and Russia can all make the case for being the top team in Sochi. So who ranks No. 1 on the initial edition of the men’s hockey Olympic power rankings?
