BEIJING (AP) — Vadim Shipachyov was pleased to carry the Russian Olympic Committee flag at the opening ceremony.
It’s quite possible he will have to carry the Russians on the ice, too.
The Russians are the defending champions and favored to win gold again at another Olympics without NHL players. But they don’t have Kirill Kaprizov, Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk or any of their goaltenders back from 2018, so Shipachyov will be expected to lead the way for a team that does not lack confidence.
“We’re here to get the gold medal — nothing else,” longtime NHL forward Artem Anisimov said.
The roster is so deep with KHL talent that Anisimov is in the mix but arrived late to Beijing and may not start the tournament on the 25-man roster. That group is led this time by Shipachyov, who has come a long way from a very brief, ill-fated move to the NHL and the Olympics four years ago when he was a nonfactor.
Now 34, Shipachyov is the KHL’s leading scorer and the Russians’…