The Hockey News Prospect Podcast: 2022 World Junior Championship Preview Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTg2MDk3MzU4OTg2MDI4MTYx/usatsi_7766080.jpg] The NHL will officially announce its decision on player participation in the next few days, a league statement says. In the statement, [https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-and-nhlpa-agree-to-continue-season/c-329156048] the league said "the NHL and NHLPA are actively discussing the matter of NHL Player participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, and expect to be in a position to announce a final determination in the coming days." The NHL is currently scheduled to take a three-week shutdown for the Olympics in early February. The league has a Jan. 10 deadline to opt-out of the Olympics without facing a financial penalty. But according to reports from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and ESPN's Emily Kaplan [https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/32904899/nhl-suspends-games-cross-border-travel-christmas-break-due-covid-19-concerns], the NHL is expected to back out of sending players to Beijing in February. The NHL confirmed participation earlier this year after skipping the 2018 event in South Korea. Canada won the past two Olympic games involving NHLers in 2010 and 2014.
