Running 2018 Winter Games thread

I admit it: The Jessie Diggins commercial update made me tear up.

 

Anyone stunned by anything in the Olympic men's hockey tournament hasn't been paying attention. There were no favorites. Just a bunch of unknowns.

 

I'm not surprised, but I'm curious about something: Why, when NHL players are removed, do other favorites emerge? Aren't Germany's best players also in the NHL? Aren't Russia's best players also in the NHL?

 

Lots of Russia's best players are in the KHL. Canada and the US lost their primary domestic league source. Russia (and others) didn't.

 

And the KHL (and other leagues) stops its season for the Olympics?

 

The KHL is well below the NHL when it comes to league-wide talent level, but it's a lot better than any other domestic league not named the NHL. A decent amount of good Russian talent stays home. Kovalchuk could still be a pretty darn good NHL player but is playing in the KHL instead.

As for the U.S. team, it's such a weird mix of minor-league lifers sprinkled with college stars that I'm not surprised at all how they performed.

 

It appears to have, yes.

 

Germany has often troubled Canada in international hockey (Canada's epic shootout win in the quarters in Albertville was a riveting game), the Germans often have big, physical teams don't back down. Canada got in a hole with some undisciplined play in the second and were all over the Germans in the third but their goalie was solid.

 

IIRC, wasn't there some talk of Ovechkin leaving to play in the KHL this season so that he could still go to the Olympics?

 

It was never serious, no.

 

Those two Russian women figure skaters were tremendous; felt really sad for the silver medalist, a fantastic performance yet the winner was fantastic as well (see her practice footage with 5 triple jumps in a row). The US women, while amazing athletes, looked like independent league players vs majors.

 

A lot of the people before the final group did, though. It was a big fall fest.