Early in September, the National Hockey League announced that they will allow their players to represent their countries in the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics. This is great news as I found it wasn't quite as enjoyable to watch the men's tournament without the top players being there in 2018. With the coronavirus still affecting the world, the NHL and the International Olympic Committee have said that they have until January to determine officially if players will participate in the Olympics.
Governing bodies for each team must announce its first three players by October 15 while also submitting their "long list". Final rosters will be announced in January. Most of the 12 participating countries have named their first 3 players as of last week. If everything works out, it looks like at least 4 former Halifax Mooseheads will represent their country in the tournament come February.
Team Switzerland will have two alumni on their team as New Jersey Devils' captain Nico Hischier and Timo Meier of the San Jose Sharks were two of the 3 guys named to the Swiss team early on. Hischier, 22, and Meier, 25, have both played in two world championships and were teammates in 2021.
After leading them in scoring and helping his country to qualify for the Olympics, 25-year-old Nikolaj Ehlers is set to play for Denmark. Other than the qualifying tournament, this will be the first time Ehlers has represented his country since the 2017 world championships.
Congrats to all four players on being named to Olympic teams. I expect we will see more alumni representing their countries come February and I'll keep you updated when the time comes.
Photos - NHL website and Live Feeds
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