Meet The 13 2018 Olympians From Massachusetts

A dozen of the best winter athletes from Massachusetts are on their way to South Korea to compete on the world's biggest stage. The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang stars Feb. 9 and the United States is bringing more than 240 athletes to the games, including 12 Massachusetts residents taking part in ice hockey, bobsled, skiing, and snowboarding.

(If you're looking at the hockey section and wondering where the NHL stars are, there won't be any this year. The league opted not to take a break to allow their players to compete in the Olympics this year. While the NHL's best are not there, you may recognize a last name or two.)

Below are the athletes from the Commonwealth:

Freestyle Skiing

Annalisa Drew

The Andover native will look to improve on her performance at the 2014 games which ended with a ninth place finish the halfpipe. She finished fourth in the event at the 2017 World Championship and took third in last year's FIS World Cup Standings, for halfpipe. Her best result was bronze medal in the superpipe at the 2016 X Games in Aspen.

Alpine Skiing

Alice Merryweather

The Hingham native was a late addition to the roster and replaces the quota spot previously held by Steven Nyman, who was injured on Jan. 26 in competition at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

This will be the first Olympics for the 21-year-old, who won a gold medal in downhill skiing at the 2017 FIS Junior World Championships.

Ice Hockey

Kacey Bellamy

Twice the Westfield resident and Boston Pride defender has won silver. She was part of the CWHL's Clarkson Cup winning-Boston Blades squads in 2013 and 2015 before switching to the Boston Pride of the NWHL, where she won the Isobel Cup. Bellamy was also a member of the 2017 gold medal U.S. World Championship team.

Meghan Duggan

The third time could be the charm for Danvers' own. The forward for the NWHL's Boston Pride has two silver medals from the past two Winter Olympics and won gold at last year's World Championship.

Chris Bourque

Yes, that is the son of former Boston Bruins defender Ray Bourque who gets to compete in the Olympics for the first time. Hailing from North Reading, this will be Bourque's first time with the U.S. senior team on a large platform. He currently plays for the AHL's Hershey Bears and was named the league's MVP for the 2015-16 season.

Kali Flanagan

The Burlington defender is a relatively new addition to the squad. She was a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2017 IIHF World Championship. She stayed local for college and played for Boston College.

Bobby Butler

One of Marlborough's own returns to the team for the first time since 2013, when he played in the IIHF World Championship and walked away with a bronze medal. He was a Hobby Baker Award finalist in 2010 and currently plays for the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.

Ryan Donato

Like his father and former Boston Bruins left winger Ted Donato, Ryan Donato is a member of the Harvard hockey team who was drafted by the Bruins and will represent his country at the Olympics. The Scituate product attended the Dexter School in Brookline and a bronze medal at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship.

John McCarthy

The Boston man who attended St. John's Prep in Danvers will make his Olympic debut. He was a co-captain on the Boston University hockey team that won the 2008-09 National Championship. He plays for the AHL's San Jose Barracuda.

Noah Welch

Raised in Newton, Welch initially kept things local when attended school at St. Sebastian’s School Needham and Harvard. He found his best success in the Swedish Elite League, where he has played since 2010. He is currently a member of the Växjö Lakers.

Snowboarding

Jonathan Cheever

Raised in Saugus, educated by Malden Catholic High School, this is Cheever's first Olympics. The 12-year veteran will take part in snowboard cross and has a career that includes 12 trips to the World Cup podium, 4 National Championships, and 10 Winter X Game appearances.

Mike Trapp

Hailing from Marston Mills on Cape Cod, this will be Trapp's first Olympics. He'll be competing in the parallel slalom and the giant parallel slalom, events he finished 20th and 16th in at the 2017 World Championship.

Bobsled

Steve Langton

The Melrose man won a pair bronze medals in Sochi in the two-man and the four-man competitions. He took bronze in the four-man at the 2013 World Championships and won gold in the two-man and four-man at the 2013 competition. He was named USABS' 2013 Men's Athlete of the Year.

Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images