18 days and counting until the first puck is dropped at Salt Lake City to herald the start of the Olympic Hockey Tournament. For the second time in history, NHL players will be allowed to play in the Games, just like as in Nagano.

Of course, every true hockey fan remembers the shenanigans at Nagano. Wayne Gretzky wasn't not chosen for the game-deciding shootout for Canada, which they lost, ending up finishing out of the medals. The trashing of the hotel room by the American team after a disappointing outing in Japan as well. The proud Czechs, led by the goaltending of Dominik Hasek, won the gold medal.

This year, all of the countries are more prepared, as are the players. At this point, it is impossible to predict the winner, although the rosters have already been announced. But there will be a lot of interesting storylines to follow as the games near and progress. Will Mario Lemieux be dominant and be able to lead the Canadian team, which desperately needs to win for fans back home, or will the nagging hip problem that has kept him sidelined for most of the season spell doom for the Canadian captain? Why did Patrick Roy choose to sit this one out, and does this mean that Canadian goaltending (Martin Brodeur/Curtis Joseph/Ed Belfour) is now inferior to that of other teams, such as the Czech Republic (Dominik Hasek/Roman Cechmanek/Roman Turek), the US (Mike Richter/Mike Dunham), or Sweden (Tommy Salo).

Which team has the better offense? With Jaromir Jagr, the Czech Republic has as good as any with a supporting cast of Radek Bonk, Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora, and Robert Lang, among others. But this year has not gone well for Jagr at all, and this is not the same Jagr that led the league in scoring last year. Can the others pick it up if the real Jagr doesn't show up?

Canada has a tremendous list of NHL stars and veterans including Mario Lemieux, Eric Lindros, Steve Yzerman, Paul Kariya, and company. Defensively, the US looks the weakest, but well-developed offensively on the blue-line. Offensive production from the D will come from New Jersey Devils defenceman Brian Rafalski and Brian Leetch.

Sweden and Finland look to be the worst off out of the Original Six (USA/Canada/Russia/Czech Republic/Sweden/Finland). Sweden, although possessing very reliable goaltending in Tommy Salo and Johan Hedberg, lack greatly in all other aspects. With Peter Forsbeg officially declaring he will not suit up for Sweden this February, all chances of Sweden making the medals are now nonexistent.

Meanwhile, Finland will be hurt greatly by the lack of a proven goaltender, and the lack of outstanding defense and offense. At forward, the only 2 players the Finns can be excited about are Sami Kapanen, who is having an amazing season in the NHL, and Teemu Selanne, who is not playing like himself. Like with Forsberg, the loss of Saku Koivu has greatly hurt the Finnish team, and has all but guaranteed a repeat bronze medal or higher performance in 2002 impossible.

As for Russia, on paper things look good, but games aren't won on paper. Pavel Bure is out with a broken hand and there is a big ?-mark if he can make the Games or not. Offensively, the D lags behind Sergei Gonchar and Oleg Tverdovsky, but defensively it is a solid bunch. Plus, Federov can always play defense (Coach Slava Fetisov, though, should beware the wrath of Federov's father if he tries to do this). The Russian locker room lacks leadership, but if Fetisov can get his boys fired up, they have enough talent to win it all. Especially if the Bure brothers are available.

The Olympic Hockey Tournament will be a showcase of the best hockey in the world, no doubt. The offense that everyone loves to see in hockey will be more prevalent because of the bigger ice surface. No one really knows how players will fair in the larger rink, but everyone agrees that the game will be more open and less defensive than what we are used to in the NHL.

Right now, it's impossible to predict the outcome of the 2002 Ice Hockey Olympic Tournament. All the teams playing haven't even been decided in the preliminary rounds yet. However, being the brave soul that I am, here are my predictions.

Gold - Canada

There are just to many big name stars not to win. There is plenty of leadership hear, including a great coaching staff backed up by GM Wayne Gretzky. Lemieux will not be as much of a factor as he is expected to be, but either Joseph or Brodeur will be brilliant in goal. Offensively, Canada will be led by Fleury (super-competitive), Paul Kariya (finally outside Anaheim), Brendan Shanahan (very underrated) and Rob Blake (on the blueline).

Silver - USA

This room is full of veterans of the game who know what it takes to win. Most forwards can play defense, and some of the defense can play offense. Of all the teams, expect the US to be the most defensive. Offensive production will be led by Mike Modano, Brett Hull, and Mike York. Richter will shine between the pipes.

Bronze - Czech Republic

Don't expect Hasek to be on the bench. Cechmanek and Turek are both world-class goaltenders, but there is no way Hasek will give up the No. 1 spot. If any one player can single handedly carry any team in this year's Olympics, its Hasek. And we all know how patriotic the Dominator is. The Czech offense will be led by Jaromir Jagr (if not, the Czechs are in trouble), Milan Hejduk, and Patrik Elias (along with sidekick Petr Sykora).