The NHL is finally going back to the Olympics, and the first round of players have already been named. Each nation heading to Italy in the winter next year has named their first six players to their team earlier this week. Once again, the Tampa Bay Lightning are very well represented.
Five players from the Lighting have already been called to represent their nation next February; Brayden Point for Canada, Victor Hedman for Sweden, Erik Cernak for Slovakia, Oliver Bjorkstrand for Denmark, and Zemgus Girgensons for Latvia, along with Jon Cooper helming the bench for Canada.
Point and Hedman lead the Olympics brigade
Point and Hedman already donned their nations colours this year at the Four Nations Faceoff, alongside and against Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel for Team Canada, and Jake Guentzel for Team USA. It is safe to assume the Lightning will have more representation outside the five gentlemen already announced on Monday. Cirelli, Hagel, and Guentzel will be likely candidates given their opportunity at the Four Nations Face off, as well as J.J Moser and Emil Lilliberg for Switzerland and Norway respectively, both of whom have represented their country internationally in the past.
If all ten players mentioned find themselves selected for a spot on a team, that will surely make the Tampa Bay Lightning one of the most well represented NHL teams at the Winter Olympics. However, there will still be some big names missing in Italy next February.
As of right now, Russia and their athletes remain banned by the International Olympic committee and IIHF from participating in international ice hockey competition. This means star players Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasylevskei will go yet another year without playing in a best on best tournament. This ruling comes to be a rather divisive one, as many fans and players wish to see Russia competing again, and others understand and support the ruling. The IOC has made it clear that it will be impossible to allow Russia back until peace has been made with Ukraine.
Even so, next year’s Winter Olympics will be an incredible spectacle. It will have been twelve years since the last Olympics that saw NHL players participate, and fans and players alike have been impatiently awaiting the next opportunity for a best of best tournament at the world’s ultimate stage. As for the Lightning, this will be the moment they’ve all been waiting for. No player heading to Italy has yet had the opportunity to play in the Olympics, along with so many others from around the league. This tournament will be the ultimate test, and an incredible experience for all the players granted the responsibility of wearing their nations colours.
