NHL players will participate in Sochi Olympics; what’s next?

By Nick ZaccardiJul 19, 2013, 1:29 PM EDT

Now that they’re officially OK’d for Sochi, what should we look for from the fifth Olympic hockey tournament with NHL players?

The key storylines as the Games approach:

1. Will Russia defend home ice? At Vancouver 2010, the most vital medal for Canada was men’s hockey gold. You can make the same argument for the host nation next year.

Russia is rooted in Olympic hockey success from the Soviet Union era, much moreso than Canada. The Soviets won all but one Olympic gold from 1964 to 1988 (with the exception, of course, being 1980).

But, “Russia” has never won an Olympic title. The Unified Team won in Albertville in 1992. In the last five Olympics, “Russia” took home a total of one silver (1998, thanks, Dominik Hasek) and one bronze (2002), half as many medals as Finland.

2. What pressure is on Alex Ovechkin? The Washington Capitals superstar and reigning Hart Trophy winner has never been able to lead his juggernaut NHL team past the conference semifinals. Likewise, Russia would have liked to have done better with Ovechin in 2006 (fourth place) and 2010 (quarterfinal loss to Canada).

Ovechkin actually starred in 2006, scoring five goals and making the all-tournament team. But he’s never carried the weight of expectations that will come in Sochi. Is it a stretch to equate it to what Sidney Crosby faced in Vancouver? I say no.

3. What about the U.S. and Canada? The acclaimed Olympic medal predictor Infostrada went out on a limb with its latest projections in April.

Gold: Russia
Silver: Finland
Bronze: Czech Republic

Obviously, European nations have a built-in advantage not having to cross an ocean for an Olympics, but it’s hard to believe neither the gold nor silver medalist from Vancouver will podium.

If there’s any uncertainty, it’s who will start in goal for both nations.

For the U.S., Vancouver fortress Ryan Miller turned 33 after the worst goals-against average (2.81) season of his career. Jonathan Quick, the No. 3 U.S. goalie in Vancouver, crashed back to earth in the strike-shortened season after being a Vezina finalist in 2012.

The current leaders appear to be the Red Wings’ Jimmy Howard, 29, who has turned in back-to-back strong seasons, and Craig Anderson, so long as his spectacular last season with the Ottawa Senators wasn’t a fluke.

Canada is loaded with skaters, but not in goal. It’s hard to believe Roberto Luongo was their super sub in Vancouver, replacing Martin Brodeur after the group stage. Luongo has since had an epic downturn with the Vancouver Canucks, Brodeur is now 41 years old and the No. 3 in 2010, Marc-Andre Fleury, is coming off forgettable playoff performances with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Corey Crawford of the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks may be the new favorite.

ProHockeyTalk compiled the groups and schedule, which begins five days after the opening ceremony.

Group A	Group B	Group C
Russia	Austria	Czech Republic
Slovenia	Canada	Latvia
Slovakia	Finland	Switzerland
United States	Norway	Sweden

Men’s Preliminary Round Schedule
WED, FEB 12
1	12:00 PM ET	Czech Republic vs. Sweden
2	12:00 PM ET	Latvia vs. Switzerland
THU, FEB 13
3	3:00 AM ET	Finland vs. Austria
4	7:30 AM ET	Russia vs. Slovenia
5	7:30 AM ET	Slovakia vs. United States
6	12:00 PM ET	Canada vs. Norway
FRI, FEB 14
7	3:00 AM ET	Czech Republic vs. Latvia
8	7:30 AM ET	Sweden vs. Switzerland
9	12:00 PM ET	Canada vs. Austria
10	12:00 PM ET	Norway vs. Finland
SAT, FEB 15
11	3:00 AM ET	Slovakia vs. Slovenia
12	7:30 AM ET	United States vs. Russia
13	12:00 PM ET	Switzerland vs. Czech Republic
14	12:00 PM ET	Sweden vs. Latvia
SUN, FEB 16
15	3:00 AM ET	Austria vs. Norway
16	7:30 AM ET	Russia vs. Slovakia
17	7:30 AM ET	Slovenia vs. United States
18	12:00 PM ET	Finland vs. Canada
Qualification play-off – TUE, FEB 18
19	3:00 AM ET	TBD
20	7:30 AM ET	TBD
21	12:00 PM ET	TBD
22	12:00 PM ET	TBD
Quarterfinals – WED, FEB 19
23	3:00 AM ET	TBD
24	7:30 AM ET	TBD
25	12:00 PM ET	TBD
26	12:00 PM ET	TBD
Semifinals – FRI, FEB 21
27	7:00 AM ET	TBD
28	12:00 PM ET	TBD
Bronze Medal Game – SAT, FEB 22
29	10:00 AM ET	TBD
Gold Medal Game – SUN, FEB 23
30	7:00 AM ET	TBD

Sidney Crosby’s sister wants to play in Olympics

Snowboarders sue coach, USOPC in assault, harassment case

Associated PressFeb 3, 2023, 6:39 PM EST

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Olympic bronze medalist Rosey Fletcher has filed a lawsuit accusing former snowboard coach Peter Foley of sexually assaulting, harassing and intimidating members of his team for years, while the organizations overseeing the team did nothing to stop it.

Fletcher is a plaintiff in one of two lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Thursday. One names Foley, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the U.S. Ski & Snowboard team and its former CEO, Tiger Shaw, as defendants. Another, filed by a former employee of USSS, names Foley, Shaw and the ski federation as defendants.

One of the lawsuits, which also accuse the defendants of sex trafficking, harassment, and covering up repeated acts of sexual assault and misconduct, allege Foley snuck into bed and sexually assaulted Fletcher, then shortly after she won her bronze medal at the 2006 Olympics, approached her “and said he still remembered ‘how she was breathing,’ referring to the first time he assaulted her.”

The lawsuits describe Foley as fostering a depraved travel squad of snowboarders, in which male coaches shared beds with female athletes, crude jokes about sexual conquests were frequently shared and coaches frequently commented to the female athletes about their weight and body types.

“Male coaches, including Foley, would slap female athletes’ butts when they finished their races, even though the coaches would not similarly slap the butts of male athletes,” the lawsuit said. “Physical assault did not stop with slapping butts. Notably, a female athlete once spilled barbeque sauce on her chest while eating and a male coach approached her and licked it off her chest without warning or her consent.”

The USOPC and USSS knew of Foley’s behavior but did nothing to stop it, the lawsuit said. It depicted Foley as an all-powerful coach who could make and break athletes’ careers on the basis of how they got along off the mountain.

Foley’s attorney, Howard Jacobs, did not immediately return requests for comment from The Associated Press. Jacobs has previously said allegations of sexual misconduct against Foley are false.

In a statement, the USOPC said it had not seen the complaint and couldn’t comment on specific details but that “we take every allegation of abuse very seriously.”

“The USOPC is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Team USA athletes, and we are taking every step to identify, report, and eliminate abuse in our community,” the statement said.

It wasn’t until the Olympics in Beijing last year that allegations about Foley’s behavior and the culture on the snowboarding team started to emerge.

Allegations posted on Instagram by former team member Callan Chythlook-Sifsof — who, along with former team member Erin O’Malley, is a plaintiff along with Fletcher — led to Foley’s removal from the team, which he was still coaching when the games began.

That posting triggered more allegations in reporting by ESPN and spawned an AP report about how the case was handled between USSS and the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which is ultimately responsible for investigating cases involving sex abuse in Olympic sports. The center has had Foley on temporary suspension since March 18, 2022.

The AP typically does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault unless they have granted permission or spoken publicly, as Fletcher, Chythlook-Sifsof and O’Malley have done through a lawyer.

USSS said it was made aware of the allegations against Foley on Feb 6, 2022, and reported them to the SafeSport center.

“We are aware of the lawsuits that were filed,” USSS said in a statement. “U.S. Ski & Snowboard has not yet been served with the complaint nor has had an opportunity to fully review it. U.S. Ski & Snowboard is and will remain an organization that prioritizes the safety, health and well-being of its athletes and staff.”

The lawsuits seek unspecified damages to be determined in a jury trial.

Oleksandr Abramenko, Ukraine’s top Winter Olympian, tears knee, career in question

By OlympicTalkFeb 3, 2023, 1:49 PM EST

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Aerials skier Oleksandr Abramenko, who won both of Ukraine’s medals over the last two Winter Olympics, is out for the season after a knee ligament tear and said he might not return to competition at all, according to Ukrainian media.

Abramenko, 34, won gold at the 2018 Olympics — Ukraine’s second-ever individual Winter Olympic title after figure skater Oksana Baiul in 1994 — and silver last year.

He competed once this season, placing 10th at a World Cup in Finland on Dec. 4, and then flew with the Ukrainian national team to stay in Utah ahead of World Cups in Canada in January and at the 2002 Olympic venue in Park City this weekend. The area also hosted many Ukraine winter sports athletes this past summer.

Abramenko missed the competition in Canada two weeks ago due to injury and then wasn’t on the start list for today’s aerials event in Park City. He is set to miss the world championships later this month in Georgia (the country, not the state).

Abramenko said he needs surgery, followed by a nine-month rehabilitation process, similar to an operation on his other knee six years ago, according to Ukraine’s public broadcaster. He said he will see how the recovery goes and determine whether to return to the sport at age 35, according to the report.

Abramenko is already the oldest Olympic men’s aerials medalist and come the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games will be older than all but one male aerialist in Olympic history, according to Olympedia.org.

At last year’s Olympics, Abramenko, Ukraine’s flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony, was hugged after the aerials final by Russian Ilya Burov, who finished one spot behind Abramenko for a bronze medal. A week later, Russia invaded Ukraine.

A week after that, Abramenko posed for a photo sitting on a mattress in a Kyiv parking garage with his wife and 2-year-old son published by The New York Times.

“We spend the night in the underground parking in the car, because the air attack siren is constantly on,” Abramenko texted, according to the newspaper. “It’s scary to sleep in the apartment, I myself saw from the window how the air defense systems worked on enemy missiles, and strong explosions were heard.”

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