The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are quickly approaching, with Opening Ceremonies in less than a month. With the Olympic Games comes a sense of national pride and the quest for the elusive gold medal. Over the next couple of months, we are going to take a look at the events that make up the Winter Olympics.

Most of the events are individual events, but ice hockey is one of the few team sports in the Winter Olympics.

Hockey is a very common sport around the world. In the United States we have the National Hockey League, which is comprised of many teams and players from outside the United States.

I enjoy watching hockey during the Olympics because it brings many players from the NHL who are on different teams together under each nation’s flag.

Men’s ice hockey originally made its debut in the 1920 Summer Olympics but was moved to the Winter Olympics in 1924. In 1998, women’s ice hockey was added as an Olympic event.

One of the most memorable events in Olympic ice hockey history occurred in the 1980 Lake Placid games with the “Miracle on Ice.” The underdog USA hockey team defeated the Soviet Union, which was considered the best hockey team in the world.

This year, look for Canada to repeat as gold medalists on the women’s side. I believe that they have a great chance of repeating, especially in their home country.

On the men’s side of the bracket, look for Canada, Sweden and Russia to compete for Olympic gold.

The United States will look to make it to the medal rounds as they failed to qualify in 2008. Youth may be one of the downfalls for the United States team, but they have the talent to make it.