The days may be short, the sidewalks in constant need of shovelling, but at least we finally have the Olympics to carry us through the rest of winter.
Driving the news: The Milano-Cortina Winter Games officially begin today (though the opening ceremony isn’t until Friday) with alpine skiing and mixed doubles curling. Projections have Canada finishing in a respectable fourth place in total medals with 27, including 10 gold.
These are the events and athletes you're going to want to keep an eye on:
Men’s and women’s hockey: Canada’s men’s team returns with its NHL stars as the favourite to win gold. Canada won the last two Olympics with NHL players, but fell off in the past couple of Winter Games, which were played with amateurs. The women’s squad, which has won five of the last six Olympics, is still the team to beat, but the U.S. will be a formidable challenger.
Snowboarding — Eliot Grondin and Mark McMorris: Grondin, who’s also a flag bearer, is expected to win the gold in snowboard cross, while Saskatchewan native McMorris will look to add to his medal count after collecting hardware at each of the last three Olympics.
Freestyle skiing — Megan Oldham and Reece Howden: These two are expected to win gold in the Big Air and Ski Cross events, respectively. Canada seems to be really strong in the events where athletes hurl themselves off of giant jumps at ungodly speeds.
Short track speed skating: William Dandjinou, Steven Dubois, and Courtney Sarault are all top contenders in speed skating — the sport that Team Canada is projecting the most gold medals in.
Moguls — Mikaël Kingsbury: We don’t follow the sport year-round, but Kingsbury is apparently the Michael Jordan of moguls skiing. Already one of Canada’s most successful Olympic athletes, he’s unlikely to leave empty-handed.
Bottom line: Canadians are feeling particularly patriotic these days, which will not only make for some loud cheers (and boos) at home, but some extra fun competition for the athletes over the next two weeks. If the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey tournament last year was any indication, things could get particularly chippy between Canada and the U.S.—LA