Washington Capitals: A First Look at Who Could Play in Beijing

The last time that the NHL allowed it’s players to compete in the Olympics was 2014. Back in Sochi, T.J. Oshie stole the show for the United States. The then 27-year-old forward became synonymous with shootout success; Oshie converted on four of his six attempts on Russian netminder Sergei Bobrovsky to lead the U.S. team to an incredible victory over Team Russia. In 2018, against the wishes of many of its players, the NHL decided not to allow them to compete in Pyeongchang.

That all looks to change. Sunday, reports surfaced that the NHL was nearing an agreement to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Assuming that the NHL does allow their players to participate in the upcoming Winter Games, here are some of the Washington Capitals players that you can expect to see representing their countries.

Russian Olympic Committee

The athletes from Russia will be required to continue to compete under the name “Russian Olympic Committee” throughout the 2022 Winter Olympics just like we saw in Tokyo. Regardless, Alex Ovechkin and Dmitry Orlov are shoe-ins to represent their country. Ovechkin, the greatest Russian hockey player of all-time, will once again be a cornerstone of the Russian team. Ovechkin represented his country in 2006, 2010 and 2014 scoring 8 goals and adding 3 assists in 17 Olympic games. Ovechkin has yet to win a medal, his team finishing fourth in 2006 in Turin being the closest he has come so far. Ovi will be looking to add his first Olympic medal to an already decorated professional hockey career.

Dmitry Orlov has never participated in the Olympics, but since the last time the NHL allowed its athletes to compete, Orlov has blossomed into one of the best defenseman on his team. A mainstay on Russia’s World Championship teams since 2016, Orlov will surely join his teammate Alex Ovechkin in Beijing.

Notable Capitals players who won’t be joining Ovechkin and Orlov are Evgeny Kuznetsov, who is still banned from international play due to a failed drug test in 2019,  and Ilya Samsonov, who simply hasn’t shown enough consistency at the NHL level to get one of the goalie positions. The NHL has no shortage of talented Russian goalies; Andrei Vasilevski, Semyon Varlamov, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Igor Shesterkin all appear to have made better cases to be on the team than the young Samsonov who will have to prove he is up to the task to be considered for the next Olympic Games.

Team Sweden

Nicklas Backstrom will once again be a lock to compete for Team Sweden in 2022. Backstrom won silver with Team Sweden back in 2014. Backstrom was held out of the gold-medal game in Sochi due to a failed drug test for excess levels of pseudoephedrine, caused by the allergy-medication Zyrtec-D. At the time, he was shocked.

“I want to say I have absolutely nothing to hide; I have allergy problems,” Backstrom explained “I’ve taken Zyrtec-D for many years. It was a little shocking to me, to be honest with you, but at the same time I am here right now and I’ve got to deal with it,” Backstrom continued. “I feel like I haven’t done anything differently than the last seven years and I’ve been playing internationally for the last seven years and lots of games and haven’t seen this before.”

This sentiment was backed up by many, including the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Chief Medical Officer who at the time said that Backstrom was “an innocent victim of circumstances.”

Now, with another chance at gold, Backstrom will surely be motivated. The slick-handed Swede has scored 1 goal and added 9 assists in 9 Olympic games.

Carl Hagelin is a dark horse to once again represent Sweden; he was on the silver-medal winning team back in 2014, but Sweden has a deep pool of players to choose from. Will his speed, hustle, and defensive-prowess be enough to make an ultra-talented Swedish team in 2022? Probably not.

Team USA

John Carlson is sure to headline Team USA’s blue-line. The perennial Norris-trophy candidate was a member of the fourth-place team that competed in 2014. Since then, Carlson’s stardom has only blossomed. Many outside of DC will remember John Carlson for his 2010 OT goal that gave the US the victory over Team Canada in the gold-medal game in the World Junior Championships. Carlson scored one goal and added an assist in six games during the Sochi Olympics. 

TJ Oshie, now 35-years-old, might find himself hard-pressed to make the 2022 team but there is no doubt he deserves a long look. Despite his age, Oshie is still an elite-level NHL player, an experienced Olympian, and arguably the best shootout player in the game’s history. With that said, Oshie will have to compete with immensely-talented forwards in the NHL like Patrick Kane, Kyle Connor, Jake Guentzel, Johnny Gaudreau, and many others vying for limited roster spots. Oshie scored a goal and added 3 assists in 2014, even though his real contribution was in the shootout against Team Russia.

Team Czech Republic

While certainly not a roster with as much star power as Russia, Sweden, Canada, or the United States, the team from the Czech Republic will have some very talented NHL players on it. David Pastranak headlines the group. While far from a favorite to medal, making the Czech’s Olympic team would still be an honor for Capitals’ defenseman Michal Kempny. If healthy and playing to his potential like he did during the 2018 Stanley Cup run, Kempny will be the team’s top defenseman. Kempny represented the Czech Republic in the World Championships in both 2016 and 2017.

Vitek Vanecek burst onto the scene a season ago for the Washington Capitals and deserves serious consideration to make the Czech Republic’s Olympic roster for 2022. Petr Mrazek is all but a lock to hold down the net but aside from him, Vanecek is arguably one of the country’s best options in-net. The young netminder led rookie goaltenders in wins a season ago, going 21-10-4, with two shutouts, a 2.69 goals against average, and a .908 save percentage. After all, Vanecek won silver in 2014 at the IIHF U18 World Championships with the Czech Republic.