Reigning Champions Favourite for Winter Olympic Ice Hockey Betting 2022

At the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, The Russian national team, competing under the name of the Olympic Athletes from Russia, emerged victorious. And at this early stage, they are favourites again. However, On 10 July 2020, the National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association agreed a renewed Collective Bargaining Agreement, which includes the possibility of NHL players participating at the 2022 and 2026 Winter Olympics. Olympic Ice Hockey Betting 2022 looks at the favourites for the upcoming tournament in Beijing.

The ice hockey competitions of the 2022 Winter Olympics will take place at two venues, located in the Beijing cluster. Both constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics, they are the 18,000 seater Beijing National Indoor Stadium, one of the Olympic Green venues, and the 10,000 seater Wukesong Arena. The men’s tournament will have twelve teams competing, while the women’s tournament will have ten teams for the first time.

Qualification stages will be completed in August

The top 8 nations from the 2019 IIHF World Ranking qualified automatically for the men’s tournament, together with host China. The Final Qualification tournament in August this year will decide who completes groups B and C. The 2022 format features three groups of four teams each. Group winners and the second-ranked team with the best record will advance to the quarter-finals, while the other teams will play a qualification playoff game.

Olympic Winter Games, Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament groups (with World Rankings):

Final Olympic Qualification (26-29 August 2021):

The women’s tournament will be played with 10 teams for the first time. The top 6 nations of the 2020 IIHF World Ranking and host China have qualified automatically, with the three remaining qualifiers also decided in August. There are two tiered groups of five teams each, with the five teams from Group A and the top three teams from Group B will advance to the quarter-finals. So with the final line-up almost decided, visit online gambling sites in the USA for Olympic Ice Hockey Betting in 2022 to check out what futures betting is available.

Olympic Winter Games, Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament groups (with World Rankings):

Final Olympic Qualification (26-29 August 2021)

Olympic ice hockey betting 2022 – will Russian or NHL athletes compete?

On 9 December 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia from all international sport for four years. However, as at the 2018 Winter Olympics, WADA will allow individually cleared Russian athletes to compete under a neutral title to be determined. In 2018, The Russian national team, competing under the name of the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR), won the gold medal, defeating Germany in the final with a score of 4–3 in overtime. And they are, in fact, Olympic ice hockey betting 2022 favourites to repeat their success in Beijing

From 1998, NHL players participated in five-straight Winter Games, before missing 2018 in PyeongChang. As exciting as the 2018 tournament was, it wasn’t quite the same as the five NHL filled Olympic tournaments. A quick look at those Games brings to mind some historic moments – Canada ending its 50-year Olympic gold-medal drought in 2002, Sidney Crosby’s overtime golden goal for Canada in 2010 on home ice, or even the U.S.- Russia shootout in 2014. So the news of a four-year extension to the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and NHLPA should bring excitement to all hockey – and Olympics – fans.

But is participation at the Games a sure thing? Unfortunately, while the NHL and NHLPA have come to an agreement, there are still some items to be resolved with the IOC and IIHF before celebrations are in order. A major sticking point in 2018 came about when the IOC declined to pay the costs associated with travel, insurance and accommodation – a hurdle that still needs to be resolved. So should fans worry? Currently, International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel seems highly optimistic. Read on here Will NHL Players Be in 2022 Olympics – a Return Looks Likely.

Who are the dominant countries?

After men’s ice hockey became an Olympic sport in 1920, Canada and the Soviet Union dominated for nearly a century. Canada won the gold medal in five of the first six tournaments. But from 1956 until the late 1980s, the Soviet Union owned Olympic ice hockey. They won seven gold medals from nine Olympics, the U.S. winning twice in 1960, and again in 1980, when college players defeated the USSR in the ‘Miracle on Ice’. And from 1998, teams from other countries, such as Sweden and the Czech Republic, began to take their turns atop the medal podium.

But when considering Olympic Ice Hockey Betting 2022, are there any longshots worth a bet? In 2018, former L.A Kings player and current assistant coach, Marco Sturm, not only helped Germany prove it belonged in the Olympics, he led them to the gold-medal game after defeating strong favourites Sweden and Canada in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. In the gold-medal game, Team Germany came within 56 seconds of winning gold before falling to the Olympic Athletes of Russia, which included current LA Kings NHL forward Nikolai Prokhorkin, in overtime.

And the host, China? A decade ago, people in Beijing were not familiar with the sport at all. But as it prepares for the games in 2022, ice hockey is now becoming increasingly popular among children and teenagers. One parent told Chinese TV that, seven years ago, when his son started playing ice hockey, many in their neighborhood thought the equipment was for golf. “Now they know it’s hockey. Some other seven or eight kids in the community also play it”, he said. So if you’re looking for a real longshot, the host nation could be the one for you.

Olympic Ice Hockey Betting 2022 – how to bet

Predicting a winner at Beijing 2022 is difficult at this early stage, as team rosters have yet to be announced and tournament groups are still incomplete. 1XBET Sportsbook are, however, offering the following odds for outright winner –

Odds for outright winner at 1XBET Sportsbook:

The Winter Olympics is one of the world’s biggest sporting events, and in terms of betting, the most popular sports are cross-country skiing, alpine skiing and ice hockey. So sportsbooks will offer plenty of wagers leading up to, and during, the Games. You can take advantage of futures betting now, or when the Games start, markets such as handicap or accumulators. Both of these markets can be profitable if, for example, you are betting on what you consider to be one sided clashes. And check out trusted Online sportsbooks in the USA for other Winter Olympic ice hockey betting 2022 odds and offers.

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