In a glimpse of what the U.S. men's hockey roster will look like at the Pyeongchang Olympics without NHL players, former NHL standouts Brian Gionta, Ryan Malone and Mark Stuart were among the 29 players chosen to play for the U.S. select team in the Deutschland Cup tournament next month in Augsburg, Germany.
In choosing the Olympic roster, Team USA executives will select among Americans who are playing in Europe and Russia, players who are signed to American Hockey League contracts and a small number of college players. However, players in college were not included on the roster for the Deutschland Cup, which involves select teams from the U.S., Russia, Slovakia and Germany.
To the dismay of many players, the NHL decided not to interrupt its season to allow players to represent their homelands in Pyeongchang in February. NHL players had competed in the last five Olympic hockey tournaments, starting in 1998 at Nagano, Japan. The NHL might reverse course and allow its players to participate in the 2022 Games in Beijing because it considers China a potentially lucrative market for hockey. However, that has not yet been determined.
Gionta, 38, had 15 goals and 35 points last season for the Buffalo Sabres. He has not signed with another team but has been working out with the minor-league team in his hometown of Rochester, N.Y., to prepare for a possible Olympic return. He represented the U.S. in 2006 in Turin, Italy.
Malone, 37, last played in the NHL in the 2014-15 season and has been playing for the Iowa Wild of the AHL.
Stuart, 33, played for Winnipeg last season and attended the Chicago Blackhawks' training camp this year on a tryout basis but was released from his tryout. He has been playing for the German team Adler Mannheim.
