When the National Hockey League was forced to cancel its break in the season, which would have allowed that league’s players to participate in the Winter Olympics, it meant that the vast majority of players who will compete at this year’s Olympic men’s ice hockey tournament will be coming from clubs based in some of Europe’s top leagues. While the Russian-based KHL – which also has teams in Finland, Latvia and China, among other countries – is sending players to almost every Olympic roster, key players are also coming from the Swedish Hockey League, Swiss National League, Finnish Liiga, Czech Extraliga and German DEL.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of players – or pairs of players – who are having big years in Europe and could be players to watch at the Winter Olympics. It includes at least one player from all 12 teams competing in the men’s tournament. 

Kontinental Hockey League

Vadim Shipachyov, C, Dynamo Moscow (ROC)

Already an Olympic and World champion, the 34-year-old Shipachyov is looking for more and he’s having another fine season as Dynamo Moscow’s captain. Shipachyov already has one KHL scoring crown and, barring injury, he seems to be running away with another with 67 points in 48 games, giving him a healthy 15-point lead. 

Nikita Nesterov, D, CSKA Moscow (ROC)

Now in his fifth season back home, 28-year-old Nesterov is enjoying a breakout KHL campaign with a career-high 33 points through 41 games, tying him for the CSKA club scoring lead without compromising anything defensively. A returning gold-medalist from PyeongChang, he will be a stabilizing force on ROC’s back end. 

Robert (Corban) Knight, C, Avangard Omsk (Canada)

As was the case in 2018 when they won a bronze, the 2022 Winter Olympics will showcase a lot of great Canadian players in Europe, and perhaps none has had a better season than 31-year-old Knight. Now in his third year in the KHL, the journeyman centre with NHL experience has scored at better than a point per game and ranks third in scoring in the world’s second-best league. Playing for Canada at the Channel One Cup in December, he recorded two assists in three games. 

Niko Ojamaki, RW, and Miro Aaltonen, C, Vityaz Podolsk (Finland)

Bringing club team linemates to a short international event is always an asset, and this Finnish duo has lit it up in suburban Moscow. Centre Aaltonen, the set-up man, is fourth in KHL and winger Ojamaki the winger, leads in goals, and they’re both in the top 10 in points. Ojamaki, 26, has a gold and silver from the last two Worlds, while this will be 28-year-old Aaltonen’s first big tourney since 2017.  

Nicklas Jensen, F, Jokerit Helsinki (Denmark)

Now in his fifth KHL season, the big Danish winger is one of Jokerit’s big offensive players with 34 points through 37 games, playing on the top line with Americans Brian O’Neill (also going to the Olympics) and Jordan Schroeder. A former NHLer, Jensen has developed into one of Denmark’s top point-getters in recent years and he will be expected to help carry the offensive load in that country’s first Olympic appearance. 

Lars Johansson, G, SKA St Petersburg (Sweden)

At 34 years of age, it’s amazing that Johansson has never represented Sweden at a major international event, but over the last five year’s he’s established himself as one of the KHL’s premier netminders and he should get a shot at being Sweden’s starter in Beijing. 

Simon Hrubec, G, Avangard Omsk and Roman Will, G, Traktor Chelyabinsk (Czechia)

Hrubec and Will have both been among the KHL’s busier goaltenders this season with 40 and 39 appearances, respectively, and both rank highly in terms of statistics as well.  The starter’s job is wide open with Amur Khabarovsk’s Patrik Bartosak in the mix as well, but based on experience it should be 30-year-old Hrubec with the slight edge. 

Andy Miele, C, and Kenny Agostino, LW, Torpedo Nizhni Novgorod (USA)

At 33 and 29, respectively, Miele and Agostino are two veterans chosen to lead a very young group of American forwards. Agostino is in his first season in Europe after playing 86 NHL games over eight years, while Miele has been in Europe for a while and was in contention for a spot on the 2018 American team. Together in Nizhny Novgorod, Agostino has 40 points and Miele 36 through 47 games. 

Peter Cehlarik, RW, Avangard Omsk (Slovakia)

After a big 2021 in which he starred for Slovakia at the World Championship – being named the tournament’s Top Forward – and then helped his homeland qualify for these Olympics, Cehlarik has 14 goals through 39 games in his first KHL season. In his first Olympics, he should be re-united with Nizhny Novgorod centre Marek Hrivik, who was his set-up man with both the national team and Leksand in the SHL last season. 

Jinguang Ye (Brandon Yip), RW, Kunlun Red Star (China)

The host Chinese have their work cut out for them in a tough group, but if they have anything in their favour, it’s that most of the team plays for the same club: Kunlun Red Star in the KHL. Their leader is Yip (called Ye on the Chinese national team), who in his fourth year in Kunlun – third as captain – has 27 points and uses his experience gained in the NHL and elsewhere to play a solid, well-rounded game. 

Swedish Hockey League

Adam Tambellini, F, Rogle Angelholm (Canada)

Coming from a well-known hockey family, Tambellini is now in his third year in Sweden, where he has helped Rogle with his goal-scoring and his mentoring of the team’s many young prospects. He is currently fourth in SHL scoring with 35 points in 32 games and has also helped lead the team into the CHL final, where he has been named one of the tournament’s five MVP nominees. 

Jonathan Pudas, D, Skelleftea AIK (Sweden)

Pudas has always been an offensive-minded defenceman but the 28-year-old is outdoing himself this season with 35 points in 32 games from the back end, with his 29 assists ranking second in the league. A first-time Olympian, the diminutive rearguard made his World Championship debut last spring in Riga. 

Rodrigo Abols, C, Orebro HK (Latvia)

Now in his fourth season in Sweden, Abols is a big two-way physical centre who has always had a goal-scoring touch but has turned into more of a playmaker this season. Abols scored three goals in three games to help Latvia qualify for the Olympics in August, and with 21 points in 32 SHL games, the 26-year-old Orebo captain is on his way to a career high in points. 

Strauss Mann, G, Skelleftea AIK (USA)

Playing his first pro season in Europe or otherwise, 23-year-old Michigan graduate Mann has platooned in Skelleftea with Gustsaf Lindvall and is the SHL’s leader in goals-against average (1.87) and save percentage (92.7) among goalies with 10 or more games played. 

National League (Switzerland)

Roman Cervenka, F, Rapperswil-Jona Lakers (Czechia)

The 36-year-old versatile Czech forward is about to embark on his fourth Olympics, and that’s because he’s showing no signs of slowing down in Switzerland, leading the National League in scoring with 50 points through 39 games. Now in his sixth year in the league, Cervenka is just a point shy of the 51-point high he’s hit twice. 

Henrik Tommernes, D, Geneve-Servette (Sweden)

Offence from the back end shouldn’t be a problem for the Swedes this year, as in addition to Pudas, they have the Tommernes, who has greater than an assist per game with Geneve-Servette. The slick Swede not only leads all National League d-men in scoring with 47 – by far a career high – but trails only Cervenka in league scoring. 

Dennis Malgin, F, ZSC Lions Zurich (Switzerland)

In his two seasons back home after four years in North America, Malgin has put up big numbers and, this season in Zurich, he is the top-scoring Swiss player in the top domestic league with 40 points in 37 games. Appearing in his first Olympics, Malgin previously played in the 2017 World Championship. 

Dominik Kahun, RW, SC Bern (Germany)

Kahun parlayed a strong 2018 Winter Olympics – where he won a silver medal – into a three-year stint in the NHL. Four years later, the now-26-year-old still has plenty of hockey in him and will be looking for a similar performance. He has 38 points in 34 games in his first season in Switzerland, ranking him 10th in National League scoring. 

Leonardo Genoni, G, EV Zug and Reto Berra, G, Fribourg-Gotteron (Switzerland)

There’s no reason to lump these two together except that only one of them will be Switzerland’s starting goalie, and both have stated their cases with strong seasons to date. Berra, 34, and Genoni, 28, have been arguably the league’s best two goalies this season, and have split the national team duties pretty evenly over the last few years. Both have stolen games for the Swiss in the past and still have the ability to do so. 

Liiga (Finland)

Atte Ohtamaa, D, Karpat Oulu (Finland)

Back in northern Finland after playing most of his career in other leagues, 34-year-old Ohtamaa was one of only two Liiga players chosen to Finland’s Olympic team – the other being Karpat teammate Saku Maenalanen. The Karpat captain is putting up decent offensive numbers but also knows Jukka Jalonen’s system from the last two World Championships. 

Extraliga (Czechia)

Peter Ceresnak, D, Skoda Plzen (Slovakia)

A long-time member of the national team, Ceresnak helped Slovakia qualify for the Olympics by leading the Qualification tournament with five points in three games. He’s continued that offensive touch into the season with 34 points in 40 games, which leads all Extraliga D-men by a wide margin and is already a career high for the 28-year-old.

DEL (Germany)

Marcel Noebels, C, and Leo Pfoderl, RW, Eisbaren Berlin (Germany)

Neither played a huge role on the silver-medal team in 2018, but Noebels and Pfoderl have turned into big performers for Germany since, putting up eight and five points, respectively, at last year’s Worlds. Both Eisbaren forwards are on pace for career highs this season, with 29-year-old Noebels recording 43 points so far and 28-year-old Pfoderl 41, making them the top two German scorers in the DEL and placing both in the top seven overall.

Mathias Niederberger, G, Eisbaren Berlin (Germany)

Niederberger has steadily increased his role on the German national team over the last few years and, at last year’s World Championship, he entrenched himself as the starter in a fourth-place finish. With the DEL’s best save percentage (93.1) and second-best goals-against average (2.03) among goalies so far this season, he only strengthened that position so far this season.