Winter Olumpics 2022 – Page 6

By STEPHEN WHYNO. apnews.com

A hockey net is moved down a hallway as the National Indoor Stadium is prepared for ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

BEIJING (AP) — Petr Sulan most recently played goal in a third-tier Czech league 12 years ago.

Now an equipment manager for the Czech national team, he was the only goaltender on the ice for pre-Olympic practice Tuesday because more than half the roster hasn’t made it to Beijing yet. Much like Jaromir Jagr, he won’t be added to the roster, but players and coaches are happy to have Sulan around.

“I don’t know if it’s possible just to ask him to do the drinking water for the guys and then jump to the net,” Czech Republic coach Filip Pesan said. “I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

The Czechs are wondering what their situation in net will look like, since goalies Patrik Bartosak, Simon Hrubec and Roman Will have run into COVID-19 testing issues back home.

“Those guys, they were positive, they had COVID two, three weeks ago, so we were sure that those guys are ready for the tournament,” Pesan said. “We’re still kind of sure that they’re ready and we’re going to pray for them to come.”

The Czechs practiced with only 10 skaters and Sulan, which is actually their biggest group since getting to China. That’s because of a combination of positive virus test results and the Czech league continuing to play games this week.

Medal predictions for the Beijing Olympics

“We finally could play 5-on-5 in the zone,” Pesan said. “It’s the first time in the last three weeks we have that chance.”

Players had someone to shoot on because of Pesan, who at 39 can still fill in more than a decade since hanging up his pads. Pesan hoped to have one of the team’s goalies on the ice for practice Wednesday but plans to use Sulan again.

“He’s pretty good,” said forward Lukas Sedlak, who was one of the new additions to practice. “He’s doing a good job. Hopefully I think tomorrow we’re going to have our goalie. I usually score more goals on regular goalie, so I will be happy.”

Pesan will be happy when the goalies on the roster pass their tests and get on the ice in Beijing. Former NHL forwards David Krejci and Michael Frolik should be with the team later this week, too.

One player who won’t be joining is Jagr, the face of Czech hockey for the past three decades who’s still playing on the verge of his 50th birthday. Jagr is still playing for Kladno, the team he owns in the Czech Republic, but is not eligible to go to Beijing because he wasn’t among the pool of players the federation submitted.

“He’s not on our long list, so that’s why we cannot ask him to come over,” Pesan said.

The Czechs open the tournament Feb. 9 against Denmark.

South China Morning Post. Dec. 8, 2021

The IIHF had mulled pulling the Chinese team from the 2022 Winter Games amid concerns it would be embarrassed on home ice against NHL-level competition
The decision avoids what would have been an unprecedented removal of a host country’s squad for performance reasons

China will take part in the men’s hockey tournament at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing after initial concerns that the team would be embarrassed on home ice against NHL-level competition.

Players making up the Chinese national team played two recent test games against Russian opponents with international officials watching closely. The team, playing as Kontinental Hockey League club Kunlun Red Star, lost 4-1 to Avangard Omsk and 5-4 in overtime to Amur Khabarovsk, getting outshot 77-43 in the two games combined.

Kunlun coach Ivano Zanatta said the games were evidence his team meets Olympic standards.

Kunlun Red Star Beijing players look at a scoreboard during the Kontinental Hockey League ice hockey match against Amur Khabarovsk in Mytishchi, just outside Moscow, in November. Photo: AP

“Definitely not second to a Norway or a Denmark or Latvia. We’re equal to those countries,” Zanatta said then. “Today and the last game they proved they have the character and the ability and they have the right to participate in their own Olympics.”

The IIHF agreed, even though Kunlun has lost 29 of 36 KHL games this season and China is ranked 32nd in the world.

The hope is that an influx of international players allows China to not get blown out in group play games against the US, Canada and Germany.

Leading scorers Spencer Foo and Brandon Yip and top defenceman Ryan Sproul are Canadian, and starting goaltender Jeremy Smith is American, though there is still some uncertainty about who will be eligible to play in Beijing.

The IIHF allows players to naturalise and represent a country if they have played there for at least two years.

It is not clear if there were eligibility concerns for some naturalised players because the pandemic forced Kunlun out of China to a Moscow suburb in early 2020. Athletes are required to be citizens of a country to participate in the Olympics.

After being awarded the 2022 Olympics in 2015, China hired big-name coaches from overseas and invested in a youth academy with the aim of developing a home-grown team in time. That failed, but China will still get to play on home ice in February.

The attention now turns to NHL participation, which was agreed to with the caveat that the league and Players’ Association could pull out if pandemic conditions worsen.

If a significant number of NHL games are postponed for coronavirus-related reasons, withdrawing is an option because the 2½-week Olympic break would be needed for rescheduling purposes.

The NHL/NHLPA deadline is January 10.