NHL: Preseason-St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars - Source: Imagn — Ryan Whitney shared his perspective on Team Russia's Olympic presence (Source: Imagn)

Ryan Whitney makes his thoughts on Team Russia's Olympic participation extremely clear

Modified Dec 14, 2024 12:42 GMT

Ryan Whitney, host of the "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast, shared strong opinions about Team Russia’s possible absence from the Olympics. In a video posted on the podcast's handle on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Whitney stressed the importance of Russian participation in the tournament.

The video was captioned:

"Team Russia would be an absolute wagooooon. The hockey world NEEDS them in the Olympics."

Whitney mentioned a tweet by publication Gino Hard, listing top Russian players, and said:

"What I was interested about was a tweet from Gino Hard enlisting Team Russia. I will say once again, they better be in the Olympics next year, or even if the U.S. wins, I don't really think it's legit. Russia needs to be part of the Olympics next year. Let's look at this possible roster."

Whitney highlighted potential Russian stars, including Artemi Panarin, Nikita Kucherov, Evgeni Malkin, Kirill Kaprizov, Pavel Bychnevich, Andrey Svechnikov, Alex Ovechkin, Ivan Barbashev, Valery Nichushkin, Matvey Michkov, Vlad Nemestnikov and Karel Marchenko.

"That's a f***ing forward roster and a half, man," co-host Paul Bissonnette said.

Whitney then named goalies like Andrei Vasilevskiy, Igor Shesterkin and Sergei Bobrovsky, calling it an incredible lineup.

"And if you're getting a little bit of a chubby thinking of some Russian hockey players, just wait till I tell you the goalies. Vasilevskiy, Shesterkin, and Bobrovsky?" Whitney said.

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Russia’s participation remains uncertain. The International Olympic Committee suspended the Russian Olympic Committee in October 2023 due to the country's war in Ukraine. Russian athletes did not get to participate in the 2024 Olympics, and the IIHF will decide on their hockey involvement in 2025.

ROC president Stanislav Pozdnyakov comments on Team Russia's prospects

The International Olympic Committee's suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee stops the ROC from functioning as a National Olympic Committee and cuts its funding. The decision came after the ROC included Ukrainian regions, violating Ukraine’s recognized borders.

Individual Russian athletes were still allowed to compete as neutrals in 2024 and likely in 2026. However, former ROC president Stanislav Pozdnyakov doubts their participation in 2026.

"If we look retrospectively at the number of international federations that allow Russians to compete, it’s not high, to be honest. ... Therefore, the prospects are difficult," Pozdnyakov told TheSportsExaminer in September.

Pozdnyakov believes future participation depends on global politics but hopes Russia will rejoin the Olympic community.

The IOC’s decision reflects ongoing tensions, with broader Russian participation still uncertain. It seems global politics and decisions from international sports bodies will shape Team Russia’s Olympic future.