Olympic men's hockey predictions

This winter, NHL players will make their long-awaited return to Olympic hockey. Hockey fans around the world will finally get to see their country’s best duke it out again on the biggest stage in hockey. In the end, three teams will skate away with hardware, and one nation will stand on top of the hockey world with gold around their necks.

So who will it be? 11 of the 12 teams will feature at least one NHL player, ensuring that every team can produce highlight-reel plays. The USA and Canada will bring their rivalry to the Olympic stage, but they can’t ignore Sweden, Finland and Czechia, who will all be looking to prove that Europe rules the hockey world. Smaller nations like Switzerland and Latvia will be on everyone's radar as they look to earn a spot among the elite hockey nations.

Dark Horse: Switzerland

Switzerland has a sneaky number of elite NHL players, highlighted by Devils star Nico Hischier. He’ll be joined by Devils teammates Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler. Veterans Roman Josi and Kevin Fiala will bring leadership and knowledge of opponents.

Perhaps the most important piece of the Swiss squad is Vegas Golden Knights goalie Akira Schmid. Goaltending is usually the biggest struggle for smaller countries, but the Swiss will have a reliable netminder who has experience against the stars they’ll be facing. They should be a shoo-in for the quarterfinals, likely facing an easy opponent in the first playoff round, and shouldn’t be counted out for the bronze medal.

Bronze medalists: Sweden

Sweden is the only European team to be made entirely of NHL players. In the group stage, their only competition will be Finland, which is missing its best player, Alexander Barkov. Their goalies, Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt, have the second and third-highest save percentages this season among NHL goalies at the Olympics.

William Nylander, Mikka Zibanejad and Filip Forsberg provide a formidable attack. Sweden will look to avenge its gold-medal loss to Canada from 2014, the last time NHL players were allowed at the Olympics, but its depth doesn't match that of the teams ahead of it. Bronze feels right for a team that's solid all around, but without anyone who can’t be shut down.

Silver medalists: USA

After coming up short at last year’s Four Nations faceoff, the Americans will be eager to show Canada and the rest of the world who’s boss, but this might not be the year. They’ll cruise through the group stage against Latvia, Germany and Denmark, but after that it gets complicated. Fans and Pundits alike are questioning some of the roster decisions, such as snubbing the American with the most career NHL points, Patrick Kane. Other notable snubs are Jason Robertson, Cole Caufield and reigning Calder trophy winner Lane Hutson.

Even with the snubs, the American lineup still boasts an elite group of defensive defensemen, the Tkachuk brothers’ forecheck and physicality, and an elite scorer in Auston Matthews. The other burning question concerns the performance of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who has developed a reputation for struggling in knockout situations. The team also has two other near-caliber goalies in Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman, who should be able to hold things down if Hellebuyck struggles. Ultimately, Team USA is surrounded by uncertainty, and the biggest question of all is: how can they stop their biggest rivals?

Gold medalists: Canada

Let’s get straight to the point. Crosby, McDavid, MacKinnon, Makar and Celebrini on the same team is just too much for anyone to stop. Heaven forbid you take a penalty and find those five lined up against you on a power play. It’s easy to point to Canada’s weakness at goaltender, but Jordan Binnington proved at the Four Nations faceoff last year that he can step up his game when he puts on a Canada jersey.

Canada’s biggest strength is its depth at forward. Every line will be dangerous, and by the third period, their forwards will be fresher than the opposing defense, who have had no easy shifts all game. This is a problem for the US, which will likely rely on its defense to stay close to Canada. The Canadians are tired of the rumors that they’re not the best anymore, and they’ll quiet the doubters with a gold medal.

Gabe Eisenberg is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email gfe5080@psu.edu.