So with only a couple of weeks until the 2022 Winter Olympics are supposed to start, Canada’s list of competitors is growing, but still nowhere near complete.
I’m writing this column on Sunday, and the deadline to announce the men’s hockey roster is tomorrow. So I’m writing this part based on bits and pieces gleaned from Internet sites. The consensus is a mix of the old and the young, since the NHL won’t be taking part
For instance, it sounds like the University of Michigan players drafted in the top five of the most recent NHL Entry Draft – Owen Power and Kent Johnson – are expected to be named to the team.
It seems they will be joined by blasts from the past such as Eric Staal and Devan Dubnyk.
One thing we do know is there will be definite interest from this region in a couple of sports. The teams for biathlon and snowboard cross were named last week, and three local women made the Canadian teams. Sarah Beaudry and Emily Dickson will be competing in biathlon, while Meryeta O’Dine is on the snowboard cross team.
For Beaudry and O’Dine, this will be their second Olympics, although O’Dine’s comes with an asterisk.
She was in South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympics, but suffered a concussion during training two days before her event and was unable to compete.
Beaudry did compete in biathlon in 2018 and finished in the top 30 in her individual event, then helped the Canadian relay team finish 10th.
She and Dickson will both be on the relay team this time around and will be aiming for another Top 10 finish.
Speaking of biathlon, don’t forget the Canadian Biathlon Championships are coming to the Otway Nordic Centre in mid-March.
Just about the time that wraps up, attention shifts to CN Centre for the World Womens Curling Championships, and then in July the 2022 BC Summer Games take place at a number of venues in Prince George and the region.
In case you lost track, that means in the next six months, Prince George is set to play host to a provincial championship, a national championship and a world championship – not too shabby.
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