Just two years in the past, hockey on the 2022 Beijing Olympics went forward with out NHL gamers due to COVID-19 pandemic-associated scheduling points.
“Gosh, that feels like so long ago,” mentioned Matthew Knies, who performed for the United States. “It’s crazy.”
Crazy that since then, greater than two dozen of these Olympic contributors have already got performed within the NHL — together with Knies and a number of other others making a big effect. Seattle’s Matty Beniers, Minnesota’s Brock Faber and Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson had been teammates of Knies, Canada has had a handful of prospects flip into professionals, from Buffalo’s Owen Power to Anaheim’s Mason McTavish, and Juraj Slafkovsky of Slovakia is rising into his recreation with Montreal after being the No. 1 choose within the 2022 draft.
“It’s crazy how fast it goes once you’re there and in a couple years you’re playing in the NHL against the best players in the world,” mentioned Slafkovsky, who led all scorers in Beijing with seven objectives and was the event MVP. He and now-New Jersey defenseman Simon Nemec helped Slovakia win its first Olympic medal.
Slafkovsky is on a heater of late, with 11 factors in seven video games, pushing for an even bigger function with the Canadiens earlier than his twentieth birthday. Captain Nick Suzuki is impressed, realizing Slafkovsky is simply getting began 24 months after his Olympic coming-out social gathering.
“Most of us were in junior (hockey) or in college, and he’s playing at the highest level against the top players,” Suzuki mentioned.
The identical will be mentioned for Beniers, Power, Faber, Sanderson, McTavish and Knies, who made his debut late final season with Toronto and is taken into account a giant piece of the Maple Leafs’ lengthy-time period future. A complete of 29 gamers from the Beijing Olympics have been within the NHL from March 2022 till now, together with 16 this season.
Philadelphia’s Noah Cates, one of many self-declared “older young guys” chosen by USA Hockey, seems round at the remainder of the league and takes pleasure in what number of gamers from that event have reached the best degree of the game so shortly.
“Some of those guys were freshmen and sophomores and kind of coming up (as) NHL prospects,” mentioned Cates, who has helped the Flyers contend this 12 months, one of many greatest surprises of the season. “It’s fun to see. It was obviously an awesome team, awesome experience and something I’ll never forget. Such a good group, as well.”
Such a great group regardless of a quarterfinal shootout loss to Slafkovsky and Slovakia that the Americans’ coach has even gotten again into the NHL. David Quinn, who had been fired from his first job with the New York Rangers, is now in his second season with the San Jose Sharks and believes Beijing allowed him to rediscover himself as a coach.
“I’ve always been a believer that your No. 1 job as a coach is to bring everybody together because everybody’s in it together and we all want the same thing,” Quinn mentioned. “I kind of felt I got away from that my last year in New York, and that tournament gave me an opportunity to kind of get back to what I’ve been doing for 30 years and confirming the way I have approached it.”
Like Quinn, Eric Staal acquired again into the league after the Olympics, going from a coaching camp tryout with the Panthers the next fall to creating a run with Florida to the Stanley Cup Final. Finland goaltender Harri Sateri, who backstopped his nation to its first Olympic hockey gold medal, and Sweden counterpart Magnus Hellberg had been additionally amongst those that made a return to the NHL.
A overwhelming majority of these in Beijing turned professionals after that event.
Knies known as it a great style of what was to come back within the NHL and a confidence enhance as soon as that day arrived. Faber discovered lots from his first likelihood to “play some grown-up hockey” in opposition to skilled adults.
“Being in college and world juniors, obviously it’s such a high level, but playing there it was just a whole different level of physicality and speed and skill and obviously every guy is just so smart,” Faber mentioned. “It helped me take a step for my game, that’s for sure, and kind of helped me realize what it takes to play at the next level.”
The surreal nature of the occasion — confined to a bubble, examined each day amid China’s then-“Zero-COVID-19” coverage and skating in empty or close to-empty arenas — additionally made most of the gamers develop up shortly.
“Definitely pretty crazy getting tested every day and having masks on,” Beniers mentioned. “Hopefully, a once-in-a-lifetime experience in a couple of different ways.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)
