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

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.

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. 

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.

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.