Overview
Another season of the Winter Olympics is upon us, this time hosted in Beijing, China. While the NHL isn’t allowing any of their currently rostered stars to participate in the games, each nation is still sending the best they can offer to try and bring home the gold. Which country looks like they’ll go all the way this year?
Check out this article for everything you need to know about Hockey Winter Olympics Betting Analysis, when making your 2022 Olympic hockey betting prediction!
Tournament Records
The 2018 Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, had a similar scenario as this year, as the NHL did not let their players compete for the gold.
The Olympic Athletes from Russia won it all, with big names such as Pavel Datsyuk, Artyom Zub, and Kiril Kaprizov making the roster for their 4-3 win over Germany.
Obviously, many of these players are now in the NHL and are no longer allowed to participate in this year’s contest.
Tournament Information
The tournament of 12 teams is set to begin on February 9th at 3:40 AM EST at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China.
Hockey Winter Olympics Betting Analysis
There are 12 different nations competing for the gold in hockey this year, each in three different groupings. Each group will play one another for seeding, with the groups being:
- A: Canada, USA, Germany, and China
- B: Russia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Denmark
- C: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, and Latvia
Primary matchups run from February 9th-10th, with the first games being scheduled as followed:
- Switzerland vs Russia
- Denmark vs Czech Republic
- Latvia vs Sweden
- Slovakia vs Finland
- China vs USA
- Germany vs Canada
With so many different teams and no NHL players allowed to participate, it can be tricky to tell which teams are worth betting on.
However, certain teams are much more likely to advance past the first round than others. For example, the US and Canadian teams are loaded with NHL-level prospects and ex-NHLers, and will likely have a significant advantage over their first-round opponents.
The go-to teams for this first round are Russia, Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, USA, and Canada. It’s going to be extremely difficult for these teams to see an upset in the first round.
Team Updates
With the stage set for the Olympics to begin this week, all teams have released their final rosters. While most teams are filled with citizens from the nations they are representing, the Chinese team is made up mostly of players from the KHL team, the Kunlun Star. This is an interesting move by China, as the team is in last place in the league at the present time.
The Russian team doesn’t have many ex-NHLers on the team this year, with only Nikita Gusev having any extended NHL experience. Eric Staal and Josh Ho-Sang will be joining team Canada, while top prospects Owen Power and Devon Levi will look to win a gold medal before playing in an NHL game.
The Finnish team has four former NHL players rostered, with forwards Leo Komarov, Valtteri Filppula, and Marcus Granlund, along with defenseman Sami Vatanen.
The USA team is filled mostly with NCAA prospects, with the most notable names being Matty Beniers and Jake Sanderson.
- The highest moneyline value is currently for the US (-1400) and Finland (650)
- The closest matchup according to the moneyline is Germany (+215) and Canada (-290)
- All matchups are currently listed at a spread of 1.5, with the exception of the USA-China game, which is set at 2.5
Olympic Hockey Betting Preview
As mentioned earlier, it’s very likely that the first-round matchups will result in the favorites moving on to the second round. Of course, hockey has the most parity out of any sport thanks to the unpredictability of the ice, so anything could happen.
However, the skill disparity between the US, Canadian, Russian, Swedish, and Finnish teams is significant compared to the other nations, which will likely be quite noticeable once the games start.
This is most evident by the massive gap between the US and China matchup moneyline odds – you’d need to bet $1400 just to make $100 if you bet on team USA!
Olympic Hockey Betting Prediction:
While the previous Olympics saw the Russian Athletic Team defeat Germany, it’s likely going to be a different story this year. Team Canada is the heavyweight favorite for the gold this year with the high ceiling of both prospects and skills of NHL veterans.
The top two teams automatically make the quarterfinals- here are the best predictions:
Group A: Canada and USA Group B: Russia and Czech Republic Group C: Finland and Sweden
How to Bet on Olympic Hockey
There are plenty of ways to get involved in Olympic betting, with a variety of options. The best option would be to check out the moneyline of each matchup during the qualifying rounds, as it will be much safer to bet on the favorites without much fear of an upset.
The later rounds and the eventual medal games will be extremely exciting, but keeping up with the seeding of the Olympic hockey tournament can be a bit confusing. Make sure to check back for new betting information as the tournament continues to unfold.
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