Monday at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics could be productive for Team Canada. Canadian men are expected to vie for medals in snowboard slopestyle, the round robin in mixed curling will conclude and the semifinals will begin with strong hope that Canada will be playing in one of them, figure skating’s team event will finish and both of Canada’s hockey teams are in action.
Here are five things to watch at the Beijing Games on Monday, Feb. 7.
Canadian men looking to rip it up in snowboard slopestyle
Led by Pyeongchang silver and bronze medallists Maxence Parrot and Mark McMorris, Canada has a strong men’s snowboard slopestyle team that should threaten medals on Monday. In addition to Parrot and McMorris, Canada’s slopestyle team also features 2021 world championship silver medallist Sebastien Toutant. The competition is fierce in this event, but a Canadian sweep of the podium isn’t out of the question.
Semifinals begin in mixed doubles curling
Canadian mixed curling rink of Rachel Homan and John Morris will conclude its round robin with a match against Italy. There’s an expectation that the pair will be competing in one of the semifinal matches that will be held on Monday. Canada is the defending Olympic champions in the mixed doubles curling event. Morris won in the inaugural event with then-partner Kaitlyn Lawes.
Medals being handed out in figure skating team competition
Defending Olympic gold medallist Canada will find out if it can retain its crown in the team figure skating competition on Monday, with three events concluding the contest: the pairs free skate, the free dance and the free skate in women’s singles. Canada has a different team from the one that won gold in 2018.
Women’s hockey team faces off against Russia
Both the men’s and women’s Canadian hockey teams are in action on Monday. For the women, they’ll continue their official Olympic campaign with a match against the Russian Olympic Committee, the team’s second-last game in the group phase before its showdown with the United States on Tuesday.
Men’s hockey team unofficially begins Games
As for the men’s hockey team, they won’t officially begin their Olympic tournament until Thursday, but are scheduled to play an exhibition match against the U.S. Like in Pyeongchang, Canada doesn’t have access to its current NHL stars – an issue that all teams in the tournament face. Led by 37-year-old captain Eric Staal, a 16-season NHL veteran who won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and an Olympic gold medal with Canada in 2010, the Canadian men will be hoping for a better result than the bronze they won in 2018 at the Pyeongchang Games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2022.
The Canadian Press
