Nielsen, Filppula headline group of 12 ex-Red Wings at Beijing Olympics

The men’s ice hockey tournament at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is officially underway. The action started at 3:40 a.m. ET on Wednesday (4:40 p.m. in Beijing), with Teams Switzerland and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) facing off at the National Indoor Stadium. Teams Czechia and Denmark followed at 8:10 a.m. ET (9:10 p.m. in Beijing). While no active Detroit Red Wings players — or any National Hockey League players, for that matter — are currently in Beijing, the Red Wings will still be represented by a dozen alumni at the 2022 Olympics. No ex-Red Wings managed to crack the rosters for Germany, Switzerland, Latvia, or the ROC. At least one member of each of the other eight participating teams previously suited up for the Red Wings. Let’s take a country-by-country look at the former Red Wings taking part in the Beijing Olympics, starting with Team USA. After making a short-lived comeback bid with the Grand Rapids Griffins in January, Justin Abdelkader is set to participate in his first Olympic hockey