Sochi: The Last Olympics for NHL Players?

In this article it starts off by talking about how disappointing this past Winter Olympics was for the United States Men’s hockey team. They were projected to at the very least medal during the games. Sadly, they did not even earn a medal. The country was disappointed to say the least. Now the topic up for debate is whether or not to let the professional hockey players (NHL) to play in the next and further Olympics. Before the 1990s only amateurs were allowed to play in the Olympics, predominately college hockey players. The NHL had an Olympic participation ban for the players. Then the ban was lifted because other countries started having professionals play, and the United States wanted to even the playing field. They may now make that ban a reality again. If a player that gets paid millions of dollars to play in the NHL and they get injured during the Olympics, its a big blow to that players franchise.

I’m honestly surprised that it took this long to try to set the ban back into place. Although it’s fun to see professionals play for your country, I think college kids are more deserving of the opportunity. If professional hockey players get paid to play then it’s only fair to let the college players play in the Olympics. Another thing that surprised me is that more NHL players haven’t gotten injured during the Olympics. The game is so fast paced that the risk of injury is very high.

I enjoyed how the writer first summed up the past Winter Olympics to give the reader (Who might not be up to date with sports) a general idea of the current situation. He sets the foundation and then go into great detail about the events that are occurring. Another thing I enjoyed about the writer’s style was that he included videos that highlighted the high points of the Sochi Olympics. It gives the reader a quick break from the constant strain of reading.