Sportsbook Review Sites Best Bets of 2014 Winter Olympics’ Ice Hockey

Written by: Rex This entry was posted on Monday, January 13th, 2014

The complete roster of each team participating in the Men’s Ice Hockey tournament in Sochi was revealed exactly a month before the games, prompting fans to argue among themselves of which team has the best shot at the gold.

Without much surprise, sportsbooks have Team Canada as the top favorite to win the Men’s hockey tournament. Putting money on Canada via a futures bet seems enticing but other teams with bigger odds are beginning to look like sound investments. One of which is Russia which is not only playing at home but appears to have the players to give Canada a run for its own money.

Let’s take a quick rundown of some of the notable teams playing in Sochi.

Top Favorites to Win 2014 Winter Olympics Men’s Ice Hockey Gold Medal

Canada (+150)

Notable Players: Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Roberto Luongo, PK Subban

What the Unites States to basketball, Canada is to ice hockey. Canada is the No. 1 team in the world and is the top favorite to win the Gold Medal at Sochi. The collection of talent on the roster teeming with NHL starts is undeniably far more superb than any team. Canada has won the Gold in two of the last three editions of the Winter Olympics, including in the 2010 Vancouver games.

Russia (+200)

Notable Players: Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin

The Russians are playing at home which means more pressure to win it all. This team is going to be powered by a slew of electric players who star for their respective teams in the NHL. Among them is the current NHL scoring leader Alexander Ovechkin and hockey extraordinaire, Pavel Datsyuk. Joining them are some of the brightest stars in the KHL, including former NHLer Ilya Kovalchuk. Though the Russians can’t match the talent of team Canada from top to bottom, it seems fair to say that this team is capable of beating any team in Sochi.

Sweden (+400)

Notable Players: Henrik Lundqvist, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin

The Swedes failed to get a podium finish in Vancouver but are the current world champions. That said, Sweden is one of the highly touted teams in Sochi. Sweden boasts a roster almost composed entirely of NHL players, with six coming from the Detroit Red Wings.

USA (+650)

Notable Players: Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, Jonathan Quick, Ryan Miller

The Americans unusually had a tough time choosing their players but in the end, 14 players from 2010 Vancouver games will be teaming up with 11 more to try to better their silver-medal finish four years ago. On paper, Team USA’s goaltending appears to be its strong suit with Stanley Cup winning goalie Jonathan Quick and Vancouver Olympics net minder Ryan Miller. Jimmy Howard figures to be the team’s third goalie.

If you want to take your hockey betting to another level (and to make things more interesting) then our recommended sportsbook is TopBet.eu who currently has the odds available to bet on. Visit our sportsbook review of TopBet to do a little homework first and then decide for yourself.