As we look ahead to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, here are members of the Winnipeg Jets that could feature for their home countries at the games.
One of the biggest questions around the NHL this year is whether its players will be allowed to participate at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The Winnipeg Jets along with every franchise in the NHL has a three-week gap in their schedule in February for the Olympics, but there is still no indication if NHL players will be competing in Beijing.
This article is going to look at some players from the Winnipeg Jets who could make that trip to the games to compete for Gold if NHLers are allowed to play.
Nine countries have already clinched a spot in the Olympics including the USA, Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, and China. Three other nations will book their tickets to the games at the Olympic qualifiers that are set to take place at the end of August in Europe.
In total, out of the countries that have already solidified their spot at the Olympics along with the countries that are competing in the qualifiers, there are three countries that could potentially have a player or players from the current Winnipeg Jets roster feature on their roster. Those nations along with the Jets player(s) that will be representing them are listed below:
3. Denmark
Nikolaj Ehlers
As our site wrote about on Thursday, Denmark is one of those teams that are playing in the Olympic qualification tournament running from August 26-28 in Oslo, Norway.
Nikolaj Ehlers would feature for Denmark at the Olympics, but that all hinges on if Denmark can get through the qualifiers and finish top of the group against Norway, South Korea, and Slovenia.
During the qualifiers, each country will play a round-robin against the other teams from their group. At the end of those games, the nation with the most points will clinch a spot at the Olympics, while the other nations will be out of contention for an Olympics spot.
If Denmark does get through, Ehlers would definitely be one of the players to watch at the games. Compared to the heavyweights of the tournament, Denmark does not have the same NHL caliber roster as that of Canada, USA; and Russia, but they do feature some NHL talent.
Ehlers would play top-line minutes at the Olympics and could be the difference-maker for Denmark. If Denmark does qualify, it will be exciting to watch Ehlers use his elite speed on the bigger ice.