Olympic Hockey This Year

There are seventy-seven days until the puck drops in Sochi Russia. Among the favorites to win a medal are U.S.A, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, and the Czech Republic. I am going to evaluate all of these teams and their players.

Russia should have a good hockey team this year. They will host the Olympics in 2014. This means they will have a home team advantage. The fans in Russia will expect their team to bounce back from a disastrous run in 2010. Russia is very strong up front. They have Alexander Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Evgeni Malkin, Pavel Datsyuk, and Nail Yakupov. However, this team doesn't have a strong defense, and in order to succeed, Slava Voynov needs to be very good. Semyon Varlamov is an important piece to this Russian team. So far, he has been fantastic this season.With their dynamic offense and strong goaltending Russia is a good contender for a gold medal.

Semyon Varlamov robbing Alex Semin

Alexander Ovechkin 

Sweden is one of the favorites to win a medal in Sochi. They have a young and mobile defense that can score. Henrik Lundqvist is the backbone of this team. If he plays well, Sweden will go far. This country has a very high powered offense. Gabriel Landeskog is going to be very helpful to his team in 2014. He has sixteen points this season and is a +7. The twins, Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin have the potential to be very dangerous on the bigger ice. In order to win a gold medal, Sweden needs their key players to perform.

the Sedin twins

Lundqvist in Winter Classic

The Czech Republic probably won't receive a medal in Sochi. The last time the Czech Republic won gold was in 1998. The team was lead by the legendary goalie, Dominik Hasek and forward, Jaromir Jager. This year, they are strong down the middle. They have two of the top center-men in the league. Their wing and the defense is the weak spot of this team. Tomas Vokoun should be the starting goaltender if he's healthy. At this point, I don't think the Czechs will medal.

Jaromir Jager

The coaches of team Finland have many players to choose from. They could go with a team full of veterans, depend on young talents, or even have a mix of the two. Alexander Barkov could be a very important piece to Finland in February. They arguably have the best Olympian hockey player of all time. The Finnish Flash, Teemu Selanne, will be competing in his sixth Olympic tournament. He holds the record for most points in the Games at 37. Not many teams have prime goaltenders like Finland. Pekka Rinne and Tuukka Rask will be battling for the number one spot on this dynamic Finnish roster.

Teemu Selanne 

Tuukka Rask stretching to make a save

The United States of America looks to bounce back after a devastating loss to Canada in Vancouver. In contrast to last year, they are expected to win Gold. This team is just an all around solid hockey group. The U.S. has a strong blue line. All of the defensemen can score as well as protect their zone. When it comes to goalies not many teams come close to Finland in terms of talent. The United States is an exception. Johnathan Quick will probably be the starting in net for this team. Jimmy Howard and Ryan Miller are going to be close second. The forwards are going to need to perform to their full capability in order to defeat the stronger teams.

Two American studs Zach Parise and Ryan Suter 

The gold medal champ, Canada, is looking to defend their successful tournament run in Vancouver. This team has the strongest offensive unit in the Olympic Games. Their biggest offensive threat is Sydney Crosby. He is also the favorite to win the Hart Trophy. Carey price of the Montreal Canadians and Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyote's will be competing for the number one job in net. P.K. Subban  is going to be the best blue liner for team Canada. The former Norris Trophy winner has 19 points this season. Canada has a good chance to win it all again this year.

Carey Price and P.K. Subban celebrating after win

Overall, this is going to be a great tournament. Each team has a strong point and a weak spot. I'm going to predict that the U.S. will win gold, Canada will earn silver, and the Finnish will defeat Russia to win bronze. Every team has a chance to medal or come close to it.