Gionta, Malone among U.S. Olympic hopefuls named for Deutschland Cup
Former NHLers Brian Gionta and Ryan Malone are among the players named to Team USA's roster for the upcoming Deutschland Cup.
The tournament, which takes place in Germany in November, will be used as a scouting opportunity for Team USA to piece together its lineup that will compete in Pyeongchang as part of the 2018 Winter Olympics.
"The Deutschland Cup for us is a little bit to find some separation of these guys, whether that's pure pace of play or performance," Team USA general manager Jim Johannson told Stephen Whyno of the The Associated Press.
In April, the NHL announced it would not make the trip to the next Olympics after attending the previous five Games, beginning in Nagano, Japan in 1998. With NHL players unavailable, competing nations have been left to build their rosters with players toiling in Europe, minor leaguers on AHL-only contracts, and college and junior players.
Gionta, 38, remains an unsigned free agent, but has been practicing with the Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Sabres' minor-league club, in preparation for the Olympics.
Malone, 37, secured a spot with the Minnesota Wild's AHL affiliate in Iowa after failing to land a job with the big-league club out of training camp. Malone last skated in the NHL in 2015.
Here's the full roster:
| Position | Player | Team (League) | Home State |
|---|---|---|---|
| F | Ryan Stoa | Spartak (KHL) | Minnesota |
| F | Mark Arcobello | Bern (Swiss-A) | Connecticut |
| F | Chad Kolarik | Mannheim (DEL) | Pennsylvania |
| F | Andy Miele | Malmo (SHL) | Michigan |
| F | Brian O'Neill | Jokerit (KHL) | Pennsylvania |
| F | Brian Gionta | Free Agent | New York |
| F | Jim Slater | Fribourg-Gotteron (Swiss-A) | Michigan |
| F | Dan Sexton | Nizhnekamsk (KHL) | Minnesota |
| F | Broc Little | Davos (Swiss-A) | Arizona |
| F | Sean Backman | Berlin (DEL) | New York |
| F | Drew Shore | Zurich (Swiss-A) | Colorado |
| F | Ryan Malone | Iowa (AHL) | Pennsylvania |
| F | Ryan Lasch | Frolunda (SHL) | California |
| F | Robbie Earl | Biel (Swiss-A) | Illinois |
| F | Garrett Roe | EV (Swiss-A) | Virginia |
| D | Chad Billins | Linkopings (SHL) | Michigan |
| D | Bobby Sanguinetti | Lugano (Swiss-A) | New Jersey |
| D | Tom Gilbert | Nuremberg (DEL) | Minnesota |
| D | Ryan Gunderson | Brynas (SHL) | Pennsylvania |
| D | Noah Welch | Malmo (SHL) | Massachusetts |
| D | Matt Gilroy | Jokerit (KHL) | New York |
| D | Jonathan Blum | Vladivostok (KHL) | California |
| D | Matt Donovan | Frolunda (SHL) | Oklahoma |
| D | Mark Stuart | Mannheim (DEL) | Minnesota |
| D | Dylan Reese | HV71 (SHL) | Pennsylvania |
| D | Mike Lundin | Jokerit (KHL) | Minnesota |
| G | Ryan Zapolski | Jokerit (KHL) | Pennsylvania |
| G | Brandon Maxwell | Mlada Boleslav (Czech) | Canadian |
| G | David Leggio | Munich (DEL) | New York |