Group play has concluded for Men’s Hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics, and teams who did not earn a bye to the Quarterfinals will participate in qualifying play on Tuesday local time in Beijing. Brendan Brisson, and Team USA, will be in action again on Wednesday where they await an opponent. Slovakia and Germany will play at 12:10 on Tuesday, and the winner will face off against the United States on Wednesday.
The United States went undefeated in group play, picking up 9 points and finishing with a goal differential of +11 (15 for and 4 against). Brisson helped contribute in that regard as the Vegas Golden Knights’ prospect has tallied a pair of goals in 3 games thus far at the Olympics. Brisson hasn’t played a ton, but he’s made the most of the experience to date. In the opening game against China, Brisson tallied a goal on 5 shots while skating 10:46.
In the second game, a rivalry matchup vs. Canada, Brisson scored in the second period to put the United States ahead 3-1. Overall he played 11:30, and scored on the only shot he put on goal.
Boom goes @brendan_brisson. 💥
3-1 over Canada in the second. #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/jcoeWQGd9w
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) February 12, 2022
Brisson did not score against Germany in the final game of group play, and finished with a line that included 10:24 of TOI, 2 shots on goal, and 2:00 in penalty minutes. Brisson is one of 15 NCAA players on the USA’s Men’s team, and is one of the top players right now in the NCAA. Brisson ranks 9th in the NCAA in goals scored with 17 in 29 games, which is tops among NHL prospects. He also ranks 22nd in points with 32, which is 8th overall among NHL prospects in NCAA.
Brisson is a talented prospect who was selected 29th overall in the 2020 draft. When the Olympics are over he will return to the University of Michigan, where he will look to help his team compete for a National Championship. Michigan is currently 23-7-1, and 14-6-0 in conference play. It remains to be seen when Brisson will ultimately want to turn pro, but so far there’s a lot fo like about him, and the potential impact he will have for the Golden Knights.