Switzerland could be the ultimate men’s Olympic hockey underdog

When picking Olympic men’s hockey medal favorites, the usual suspects often show up at the top.

Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland and Czechia are definitely the pre-tournament favorites with NHLers back in the fold. But the international hockey landscape is much, much stronger than it was more than a decade ago when the top league in the world sent its top stars to Russia. Many teams, including Germany, Latvia, and Denmark, are icing the best lineups they have ever assembled at any level.

And that includes Switzerland. Fresh off consecutive silver medals at the IIHF men’s World Hockey Championship, the Swiss are definitely in the conversation to challenge for a medal in Italy. They have a solid mix of active NHL stars and European pro standouts, with many having stolen the show at the World’s in recent years.

Former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton weighed in on the team’s Olympic hopes during Daily Faceoff’s Olympic preview show, explaining why you should absolutely keep a close eye on the men in red and white:

Jeff Marek: “Which team holds the most curiosity for you other than the one that you know best in Canada?”

Carter Hutton: “Maybe because Canada’s drawing them would be the Swiss. You look at a player like Roman Josi. He played 31 minutes the other night. This is a guy that can carry the mail against anyone and he’s gonna be used to the full extent 

“I think that is an interesting team. You think back to Team Europe coached by Ralph Krueger (at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey). And some of these Swiss players have stepped in and played well, no matter the situation. And I think for Switzerland, it’s the fact that they get to their team game right away. And that’s so important. They play more of that complete style where these other teams, we talk about (Canada, USA and Sweden), it’s almost like an all-star team put together. But how do they find their game and how do they find that desperation and complete game when you’re asking guys to play different roles? Switzerland does that well.”

You can watch the full segment here.