USA Olympic hockey roster: Three first-round picks, six former NHLers headline men's team for Beijing

Matty-Beniers-12242021-Getty-FTR

The 2022 U.S men's Olympic ice hockey roster was unveiled Thursday, and as expected, it is laden with college players. Of the 25 players on the roster, 15 are playing collegiate hockey. Another six U.S. players have played in the NHL.

You won't find active NHL players on this year's Olympic team. The league opted not to send them to Beijing as it decided to forgo the Olympic break and make up games postponed because of COVID-19. The NHL didn't send any players to the 2018 games, either.

With no NHL players on Olympic rosters, this year's tournament will likely be fans' introduction to many of the players who will take part, and a chance for some of the players to become household names before their pro careers get off the ground.

Here is the U.S. men's hockey team's roster ahead of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. The men's ice hockey competition will begin Feb. 9.

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USA Olympic men's ice hockey roster

As expected, college players headline the 25-man roster for the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Among the biggest names are two first-round picks from the 2020 NHL Draft — Jake Sanderson (fifth overall, Senators) and Brendan Brisson (29th, Golden Knights) — and the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, Matty Beniers (Kraken).

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Only one player from 2018 is on the team again this year: forward Brian O'Neill. The 33-year-old O'Neill played in 22 NHL games during his career and registered four points (one goal, three assists) in five games at the 2018 Olympics.

O'Neill, Ken Agostino (86 games), Andy Miele (15 games), Nick Shore (299 games), Steven Kampfer (231 games) and David Warsofsky (55 games) are the members of this year's team with NHL experience.

Name Position Team (League)
Nick Abruzzese Forward Harvard (NCAA)
Ken Agostino Forward Torpedo (KHL)
Matty Beniers Forward Michigan (NCAA)
Brendan Brisson Forward Michigan (NCAA)
Noah Cates Forward Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA)
Sean Farrell Forward Harvard (NCAA)
Sam Hentges Forward St. Cloud State (NCAA)
Matthew Knies Forward Minnesota (NCAA)
Mark McLaughlin Forward Boston College (NCAA)
Ben Meyers Forward Minnesota (NCAA
Andy Miele Forward Torpedo (KHL)
Brian O'Neill Forward Jokerit (KHL)
Nick Shore Forward Novosibirsk (KHL)
Nathan Smith Forward Minnesota State (NCAA)
Brian Cooper Defense IK Oskarshamn (SHL)
Brock Faber Defense Minnesota (NCAA)
Drew Helleson Defense Boston College (NCAA)
Steven Kampfer Defense Ak Bars Kazan (KHL)
Aaron Ness Defense Providence (AHL)
Nick Perbix Defense St. Cloud State (NCAA)
Jake Sanderson Defense North Dakota (NCAA)
David Warsofsky Defense Ingolstadt (DEL)
Drew Commesso Goaltender Boston University (NCAA)
Strauss Mann Goaltender Skelleftea (SHL)
Pat Nagle Goaltender Lehigh Valley (AHL)

Who coaches the U.S. men's ice hockey team?

In keeping with the youth movement on this year's team, Team USA coaches have experience in the college ranks.

This year's head coach is David Quinn, who spent three seasons as head coach of the Rangers, where he compiled a 96-87-25 record. Prior to his time in New York, Quinn guided Boston University to four NCAA Tournament berths in five years, including a runner-up finish in 2015. He went 105-69-21 during his time with the Terriers.

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Joining Quinn on the bench as assistants are Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings, whose team made the 2021 Frozen Four; St. Cloud State coach Brett Larson, whose team finished runner-up last year; and Penguins player development director Scott Young, who was an assistant to Quinn at BU. Goaltending coach David Lassonde has three decades of collegiate coaching experience. 

Former NHL goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck is the team's general manager. He also is the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. 

Name Position Most Recent Team
David Quinn Head coach New York Rangers (2018-21)
Mike Hastings Assistant coach Minnesota State (2012-present)
Brett Larson Assistant coach St. Cloud State (2018-present)
Scott Young Assistant coach Pittsburgh Penguins (2017-present)
David Lassonde Goaltending coach USA Hockey (2013-present)
Alex Dawes Video coach Penn State (2014-present)

Team USA men's ice hockey at the Olympics

The U.S. men have been successful in ice hockey historically. They have medaled 11 times overall, including eight silver medals, most of any country. The team hasn't won a gold medal, however, since 1980 in Lake Placid, N.Y.; that squad provided one of the seminal moments in American sports history with its "Miracle on Ice."

It has been 12 years, since Vancouver in 2010, that Team USA took home a medal. The Americans have failed to medal in three of the last four Olympics.

Year Site Result
1920 Antwerp Silver
1924 Chamonix Silver
1932 Lake Placid Silver
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Bronze
1948 St. Moritz 4th
1952 Oslo Silver
1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Silver
1960 Palisades Tahoe  Gold
1964 Innsbruck 5th
1968 Grenoble 6th
1972 Sapporo Silver
1980 Lake Placid Gold
1984 Sarajevo 7th
1988 Calgary 7th
1992 Albertville 4th
1994 Lillehammer 8th
1998 Nagano 6th
2002 Salt Lake City Silver
2006 Turin 8th
2010 Vancouver Silver
2014 Sochi 4th
2018 Pyeongchang 8th

Team USA men's ice hockey 2022 Olympics schedule

Team USA is one of the 12 teams that qualified for the Beijing Olympics. It will be playing in Group A. Its group-play opponents will be Canada, China and Germany.

Date Game Time (ET)
Feb. 10 USA vs. China (preliminary round) 8:10 a.m.
Feb. 11 USA vs. Canada (preliminary round) 11:10 p.m.
Feb. 13 USA vs. Germany (preliminary round) 8:10 a.m.
Feb. 15 Men's hockey qualification playoff TBD
Feb. 16 Men's hockey quarterfinals TBD
Feb. 18 Men's hockey semifinals TBD
Feb. 19 Men's hockey bronze-medal game 8:10 a.m.
Feb. 19 Men's hockey gold-medal game 11:10 p.m.
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