The NHL announced that their players will be returning to play in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014.
Although injuries are a risk, this will be a joyous occasion for many Toronto Maple Leafs players who will get to represent their country for the first time at the Olympics.
The Olympics are the most prestigious event in sports and although it’s supposed to be the best amateur athletes in the world representing their countries, having professional athletes for the hockey portion is the way to go.
If you’re going to have a world-class event, it only makes sense to have the best players in the world representing their country.
When the Olympics had non-NHL players in 2018, the tournament didn’t have the same allure as it did in the past.
You want to see Sidney Crosby play for Team Canada and score five-hole against Ryan Miller for Team USA, not Wojtek Wolski trying to score on Ryan Zapolski.
Yes, google those names. Those are real people who represented Team Canada and Team USA at the last Olympics.
The NHL currently has an amazing group of players that were too young to represent their country in the 2014 Olympics and it would have been a shame if we didn’t get to see them in the 2022 Games.
If that was the case, it could have been possible that we never see Connor McDavid wear a Team Canada jersey at the Olympics or see if Leon Draisaitl could follow in his father’s footsteps representing Team Germany.
By 2022, hopefully the Toronto Maple Leafs have won a Stanley Cup, but even if that’s not the case, here are a few players that we’ll most likely see at the Olympics.