Americans playing hockey in Europe are likely to make up the majority of the U.S. men’s team for the Pyeongchang Olympics, Olympic coach Tony Granato said Monday, adding that he will fill the remaining spots with players who are signed to American Hockey League contracts and with college players.
The Olympic tournament will not include NHL players because the league decided not to interrupt its season for a faraway event that brings it little or no financial gain. The last Olympic tournament that did not include NHL players was in 1994.
Granato is a former Kings forward who played for Team USA in the 1988 Olympics and went on to work as a coach and an assistant coach in the NHL.