Beijing Winter Olympics excites U.S. hockey fans with high expectations

NEW YORK, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, which will kick off on Friday, makes U.S. ice hockey fans excited and longing to watch the games.

"We'll definitely be following the games. And obviously, we're gonna watch the Olympics. We're excited," said John Stack, a fan of U.S. professional ice hockey team New Jersey Devils.

The Olympics only comes around every four years, so you always want to have a good Olympics and you want to make sure that it represents all countries, said Stack on Tuesday night during an intermission of a game between the New Jersey Devils and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Olympics kind of bring unity to everybody and what's important is that we all have unity, Stack told Xinhua.

"We try to get back on track as a world, if you will, not just one nation. We want to get back camaraderie and get back and get through this pandemic. So I obviously think the Olympics on all levels, whether it's figure skating, whether it's hockey, whether it's bobsledding in the Winter Olympics, always an exciting time of the year," said Stack.

Teenage fans from New Jersey also said they're excited about the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics and interested in following the games.

Eli Shamis, a high school student and ice hockey fan, said he is not only excited about ice hockey but also every other sport like skiing.

"It comes around once every four years, really. So you gotta watch it when it comes. You're also gonna be waiting for a long time," said Peter Lombardi, who joins Shamis in the same school.

Adam Ali, another teenage hockey fan, said he probably would watch the Beijing Winter Olympic Games on TV or major news channels.

Ali told Xinhua he wanted the athletes in Beijing to stay safe given the spreading of the new COVID-19 variant and expected great things to come in the Beijing Winter Olympics despite what's going on with the pandemic.

Stack added that he had high expectations for the U.S. ice hockey team in the Beijing Winter Olympics.

"The U.S. team is coached very well. They got good players, and they're gonna do very, very well," said Stack.

The U.S. ice hockey team just has a massive legacy behind it and "we think that they can go all the way if they choose to," said Ali.

Ali said he hopes the U.S. ice hockey team can take it home while facing tough competitors like Canadian and Russian counterparts.

15 current players from the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and eight from European clubs were among the 25-man USA Hockey roster for the Beijing Olympic Winter Games.