BEIJING (AP) 鈥� NHL players are not at the Olympics. NHL ice is, and that should make for better hockey.
The Olympic tournament is taking place on 200-by-85-foot surfaces for the first time since the 2010 Vancouver Games, when Canada beat the United States for gold. It's an advantage for the North American teams that want to play a more direct style and a boost for the chance of seeing fast-paced, quality action that's often lacking on wider, international-sized rinks.
鈥淚 do think the games do get a little bit more entertaining just because there鈥檚 so much more happening than obviously on the bigger ice, where there鈥檚 a little bit more room for everyone,鈥� said Sweden center Joakim Nordstrom, a veteran of almost 500 NHL games. 鈥淥n the smaller ice, you can really see the best players separate themselves from the others. They still are able to do the skilled stuff. I think it鈥檚 pretty exciting to see NHL-level skill guys, what they can do in the tighter areas.鈥�
In the absence of NHL talent at the Pyeongchang Olympics four years ago, the Russians used their talent surplus to win gold in a tournament that was . Canada used the surface to its benefit at the 2014 Sochi Games by holding on to the puck for the majority of every game on a dominant run to gold.
Don't expect any team to be able to do that this time, but the Americans and Canadians are plenty comfortable with a north-south game that the NHL surface allows for.
鈥淭his is where guys have grown up playing,鈥� Canada coach Jeremy Colliton said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a big team, comfortable in the battle areas, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e going to try and make it that way when we play.鈥�
held pre-Olympic camp in Switzerland practicing on the bigger international ice, and captain Eric Staal could feel the difference on the more familiar NHL rink when the team skated the first time in Beijing. It was evident in the U.S.-Canada scrimmage Monday that included a big hit on the opening shift and a handful of turnovers leading to breakaways when the play went to 3 on 3.
U.S. defenseman Brock Faber, who was knocked to the ice by Mason McTavish in the opening seconds of that scrimmage, called it 鈥渁 grown man's game.鈥� The tighter ice is also good for the Americans because and can quickly turn any game into a track meet.
鈥淲e want to play fast, and on smaller ice it鈥檚 an advantage to play fast and play hard,鈥� U.S. center Andy Miele said. 鈥淕ot to be good on the forecheck and great on the backcheck. I think that鈥檒l play into our favor.鈥�
the tournament, and the other European teams expect to adjust quickly to the pace of international hockey on NHL ice.
鈥淲e have enough skates and practices to get used to it and work it, but obviously it makes the game a little faster, so we got to make faster and smarter decisions with the puck,鈥� said forward Tom Kuhnhackl, who was in the NHL as recently as 2020 with the New York Islanders. 鈥淣ot a whole lot changes. For us as a team, we want to play as a group, as a five-man unit out there. We want to attack with five guys, play neutral zone as a group but also in the D zone.鈥�
Slovakia coach Craig Ramsay, a longtime NHL assistant, expects his team 鈥� which features the two youngest players in the tournament 鈥� to play an aggressive style that's tailored to this surface. That's not usually Finland's game, which is predicated on solid structure and teamwork, but some guiding principles stay the same and could make the Finns a serious medal contender.
鈥淥f course we understand there鈥檚 a little bit more 1-on-1 battles and how we play in front of both nets is very important 鈥� even more important than on the bigger rink,鈥� Finland coach Jukka Jalonen said. 鈥淲e want to play hard in front of the net. We have to be ready to defend because if you want to win something, you have to defend well. I think that鈥檚 the main thing.鈥�
And score in bunches if the situation allows.
wants his young team to force the issue as much as possible and not sit back and wait for opponents to dictate. Having like Matty Beniers and Brendan Brisson is a good fit for this ice, where offense can come from anywhere.
鈥淵ou can shoot from everywhere in the O-zone,鈥� said , who played 15 NHL seasons with the Boston Bruins. 鈥淪ame thing in the D-zone: You鈥檝e got to be aware that people are just crashing the net.鈥�
It will take some serious getting used to for China, which faces off with the United States on Thursday in each team's first game. Even with a , the small ice at this caliber of hockey is a major problem for the hosts.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a different game on the short ice,鈥� Canada-born China forward Brandon Yip said. 鈥淓verything鈥檚 going to happen a lot faster, and we鈥檙e really trying to pound that into our guys鈥� minds. We鈥檝e got to really start playing ahead of the game, which means you鈥檝e got to know what you鈥檝e got to do before you get the puck.鈥�
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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
