Winter Olympics: five women to watch in ice hockey at Beijing 2022, with Hilary Knight and Marie-Philip Poulin primed for one last Goliath vs Goliath battle for gold
- Women’s ice hockey has long been dominated by two teams, Canada and the US, and don’t expect that to change come Beijing 2022
- Five players, four from the heavyweights, will surely factor into what should be another thrilling final between two teams that have created a rivalry for the ages
While women’s ice hockey at the Winter Olympics has grown in leaps and bounds over the last two decades, since first being introduced in 1998 at Nagano, there has always been two perennial contenders: Canada and the US.
Come February, you can expect a Goliath vs Goliath battle that will have a unique twist, with both heavyweights in the same group for the round robin stage.
Of course, Sweden won silver in 2006 – the only time someone other than the Canucks or the Yankees finished first or second – but don’t expect that to happen this time around. These two went down to the wire to settle things at the last two Olympics, providing fans with two thrilling games back to back, four years apart.
1. Hilary Knight
The four-time Olympian who already has a gold and two silvers on her resume, is probably set for her swan song Olympics at the age of 32. US hockey, and women’s hockey in general, is undergoing a youthful revolution, but we will get one last chance to watch one of the game’s greatest goal scorers of all-time in China.
