Team Canada eyes medals at Beijing Olympics

Much is expected from Canada's veteran snowboarding team as the Beijing Winter Olympics approach.

The team, revealed on Wednesday, is expected to be the "strongest team in all of snowboarding".

The Canadians, who brought home four medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, are looking to build on that number as all four previous medalists－Sebastien Toutant, Max Parrot, Mark McMorris and Laurie Blouin－are back for another medal run.

Toutant, the lone gold medalist, will defend his gold in the men's big air and will also compete in slopestyle.

Craig McMorris, snowboard analyst and the older brother of Mark McMorris, told CBC News that the Canadians should be a "force".

"I think it is the strongest team in all of snowboarding, especially in male slopestyle and big air with Max Parrot, Sebastien Toutant and Mark McMorris all returning for their third Games," he said. "The skill is there. And the veteran wisdom and experience are there as well."

Blouin, who won the slopestyle silver at the Pyeongchang Olympics, will lead the women's contingent in both slopestyle and big air.

Nomination announced

On Monday, 16 Canadian longtrack speedskaters were nominated to Team Canada for Beijing 2022.

Canada has won a total of 37 Olympic medals in long-track speedskating－more than in any other sport at the Winter Games.

Composed of eight men and eight women, the speedskating team includes a reigning Olympic champion, a reigning world champion, several world championships medalists, and a women's team pursuit squad that has been unbeatable so far this season.

A team of four women and three men will represent Canada in cross-country skiing, with returning Olympic athletes Cendrine Browne and Dahria Beatty on the women's squad.

The women's hockey team will aim for its fifth gold medal overall and first since 2014 when it opens preliminary round action against Switzerland on Feb 3.

"It is a tremendous honor and accomplishment to be chosen to represent your country at the Olympics," said Tom Renney, chief executive officer of Hockey Canada.

But unfortunately, the National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players' Association have decided not to participate in the men's hockey due to a COVID-19 surge before Christmas.

The NHL had to postpone 98 games because of virus outbreaks among its teams. On Wednesday, the league announced it would play 95 of those games in the time frame that had been set aside for the Olympics.

Agencies contributed to this story.