Golden Knight’s Alex Pietrangelo Skeptical on Attending 2022 Winter Olympics

Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is one of only three players that have been named to Team Canada’s 2022 Winter Olympic Roster. He joins Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid as the only players that were named to the roster in early October.

But with the ongoing issues and hassles that a trip to Beijing could potentially present, Pietrangelo is skeptical about attending the Olympics. With COVID-19 still raging on, especially in Beijing, China where the Olympics will be held, many Olympic Athletes have become hesitant to go to the games.

“I’ve got four kids that are under the age of three and a half. For me to be potentially locked up there for five weeks plus the Olympics, that’s a long time being away from my family,” Pietrangelo said before Sunday night’s game against the Minnesota Wild.

The NHLPA and International Olympic Committee have announced that if a player tests positive while at the Olympic Games in Beijing, they must quarantine for a period of 21-days or five weeks.

Hypothetically speaking, if a Golden Knights player were to test positive at the end of the NHL’s Olympic Break, they would miss about 19 games in the Golden Knights schedule and would be out until April.

After not attending the Olympics since 2014, the NHL has officially made a deal to let their players return to the games. But at any time up until January 10th, the NHL can drop out of the games with no financial penalty. Pietrangelo played for Team Canada in 2014 and won Gold.

“There’s a lot of things, especially guys with families, that we’re taking a look at. “I’m not going to make a decision until we get all the answers, because I think those are hard to come by right now,” added Pietrangelo.

The Golden Knights already have two players that are ruled out for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Jack Eichel is not expected to be healthy for Team USA, and Robin Lehner stated that he would not join Team Sweden due to mental health reasons.