Will China surprise against a US team without any players?
No NHL stars, but still realistic chances of winning the gold medal – even without star players from the National Hockey League, the US Americans go into the Olympic ice hockey tournament in Beijing as secret favourites. Already at the start of the tournament, the USA has a group game against the Chinese hosts of the current Winter Olympics.
Although the Chinese have assembled their own national team with US players, the host remains the big underdog in the ice hockey tournament. In a group with the USA, the Canadians and also the German national team, every point is already a small sense of achievement for China.
Even without star players from the NHL, the USA is the clear favourite against the Chinese national hockey team. For a victory of the USA against China in ice hockey, betting odds of only 1.30 are offered. A bet on the Chinese, on the other hand, is rewarded with odds beyond the 9.00 mark in the event of a success.
For the first time, the two nations will meet in a hockey match. One of the few arguments in favour of the Olympic host in the USA vs. China prediction is the well-rehearsed national squad. All players in the Chinese Olympic squad are under contract at club level with Kunlun Red Star.
USA – Statistics & current form
The USA are participating in an Olympic tournament for the 23rd time in the federation’s history. During this period, “Team USA” has won the gold medal a total of two times. The last time was in 1980, when the US hosted the Olympic Games. Since then, the US national hockey team has finished among the top four nations three times in the last five Olympic editions.
In 2002 and 2010, the USA failed to beat its Canadian neighbours and won “only” the silver medal. At the Winter Olympics in Beijing, even participation in the semi-finals would be gratifying. Without the star players from the NHL, the USA is still difficult to assess.
There is enough potential for an Olympic coup even without the stars from the top-class NHL. Besides star players from the European leagues, there are also numerous college players from the USA who have been called up to the national squad for the Winter Olympics. It is quite possible that the youngsters will make a splash at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Dutiful task against the Chinese?
The US-Americans got a hammer group and therefore have no room to lose points already in the group opener against China. In two of the last three Olympic Games, the USA have mastered the group opener. Only at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea did “Team USA” go without a win in its first group match.
If the team of national coach David Quinn celebrates a successful start to the group this time, odds of up to 1.30 are paid on USA vs. China for tip 1.
In the ranks of the US Americans, David Warsofky from ERC Ingolstadt is also a player from the German ice hockey league. Due to the high number of college players in the Olympic squad of the USA, it is obvious that Warsofky – as a former NHL player and world champion – sometimes gets a leading role in “Team USA”.
China – statistics & current form
For the Chinese national ice hockey team, in a sense, the club HC Kunlun Red Star starts. All players in the squad of the KHL club have already been naturalised, including numerous US Americans like Smith, Sproul & Co. who would have had little chance of being nominated for “Team USA” anyway.
Because HC Kunlun Red Star has been participating in the prestigious KHL as a Chinese club for several years, the representative of the Chinese national ice hockey team at the 2022 Olympics should not be underestimated. After all, the squad is well-rehearsed, but Kunlun is nevertheless one of the weakest hockey teams in the KHL.
Prior to the start of the Olympics, HC Kunlun had only 25 points in 48 KHL games and thus carries the red lantern in the KHL’s Eastern Conference. The Chinese club lost a total of 39 of the 48 games. On average, they conceded four goals per game in the 48 KHL games. It is quite possible that this negative trend will continue at the Winter Olympics.
China doomed to fail?
Although the upcoming opponent does not start the Winter Olympics with its best line-up, the role of “Team USA” as favourites in the match against China is understandable given HC Kunlun’s previous statistics. Even a narrow defeat would be a small sense of achievement for the Chinese against the Americans.
After all, China is taking part in the ice hockey tournament at the 2022 Olympics for the first time. Previously, the Chinese national ice hockey team has never qualified for the prestigious competition at the Winter Olympics. At the World Championships, China also remained largely harmless and flew under the radar.
Because all teams in the Hockey Olympics group stage qualify for the play-offs, defeats in the high-calibre group with the German, Canadian and US national hockey teams are certainly something China can take.
USA – China Tip
Canada and USA are the two top favourites in the group, closely followed by the German national hockey team. The Chinese will probably only function as a points supplier in the group phase – despite a well-rehearsed squad, mind you. As the Chinese World Cup history already shows, a coup at the Winter Olympics tends to be ruled out.
One of the few arguments in favour of the host nation in the USA vs. China match is the fact that the Chinese will be fielding HC Kunlun Red Star, a KHL club with naturalised ice hockey players. “Team USA is nevertheless stronger with numerous college players.
Even without NHL players, the US Americans still have enough quality in their squad to master the group opener against the Chinese. We expect a comfortable win for “Team USA”, which will underpin their Olympic ambitions for the gold medal.
With a stake of six units, we place our bet on USA vs. China at odds of 1.50 on a victory for the Americans with at least a two-goal lead.
