Farmington Native Makes Olympic Debut In US Hockey's Blowout Win

FARMINGTON, MN — Farmington native Drew Helleson made his Olympic debut Thursday as the U.S. men's hockey team dominated the hosts during their first game at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

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The U.S. beat China 8-0 in a game that started around 7 a.m. Central Time Thursday.

Helleson, currently a Junior defensemen for the Boston College Eagles, wears number 4 for Team USA.

Forward Sean Farrell powered the U.S. to the huge win with a hat-trick and two assists. Gophers forward Ben Meyers added a goal and two assists, while Stillwater native Noah Cates, Brendan Brisson, Brian O'Neill and Matty Bernier also scored.

All but one player on the team was making their Olympic debut during Thursday's win over China, with O'Neill the only returning Olympian on the 2022 roster.

The U.S. men's hockey team called up NCAA stars and players from European leagues after the NHL opted out of sending its players to the Beijing Olympics due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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The U.S. men's hockey team finished seventh among 12 teams at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

The U.S. is scheduled to play Canada at 10:10 p.m. Central Time on Friday and Germany at 7:10 a.m. Sunday. Canada beat Germany 5-1 on Thursday. Germany will play China next.

More than half of China's men's hockey team are players who were born or raised in North America, according to a report by the Guardian.

Goalie Jeremy Smith, who was born in Dearborn, Michigan, is listed on the Chinese roster as Jieruimi Shimisi, while Chicago-born Jake Chelios is listed as Jieke Kailiaosi. Both were recruited to play for the hosts of the 2022 Olympics, who automatically qualify for each event at the games.

Players can represent a country if they lived and played in a league there for at least two years under International Ice Hockey Federation rules, the Guardian reports.

The plan to recruit North American players to play for China "was hatched to avoid Chinese embarrassment on the international stage," according to the report.

Last fall, the IIHF considered replacing China at the 2022 Olympics with Norway, the highest-ranked team that failed to qualify for the games, due to "concerns over whether China could field a competitive team," NBC reports.