Depending on what happens in the next month or so, there could be as many as four Newfoundlanders competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang, South Korea.
Teddy Purcell of St. John’s is in the mix to represent Canada in hockey. Purcell, a 32-year-old forward, has eight years of full-time NHL experience, and was part of the Canadian team which competed in the 2017 Karjala Cup in Finland.
The Canadians went 1-2 in the round-robin tournament, which finished up Sunday. Purcell was held off the scoresheet in each game.
Canada is using a number of European pros in the Olympics, and the national team continues its Olympic preparations next month with the Channel One Cup in Moscow.
Purcell is currently playing in Russia, with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League where he has a goal and two assists in four games.
Other Newfoundlanders vying for a shot at the Olympics are curlers Brad Gushue of Mount Pearl and Mark Nichols of Labrador City, the reigning Brier and world champs who have their Olympic Trials next month in Ottawa, and Marystown native Kaetlyn Osmond, now living in Edmonton. Osmond is the reigning Canadian champ and last year’s world silver medallist.
