Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Sergei Gonchar were named to Russia’s 2010 Hockey Olympic team on Friday for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Russia is considered a favorite to win Gold at the games.
The provisional rosters of all teams in the men’s ice hockey tournament at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be announced between December 23 and January 1.
The final Olympic rosters will be registered on February 15 at the directorate meeting one day prior to the beginning of the tournament. After that date, no replacements are possible.
Goaltenders
Ilya Bryzgalov – Phoenix Coyotes, NHL
Evgeni Nabokov – San Jose Sharks, NHL
Semyon Varlamov – Washington Capitals, NHL
Defensemen
Sergei Gonchar – Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL
Denis Grebeshkov – Edmonton Oilers, NHL
Dmitri Kalinin – Salavat Yulayev Ufa
Konstantin Korneyev – CSKA Moscow
Andrei Markov – Montreal Canadiens, NHL
Ilya Nikulin – Ak Bars Kazan
Fedor Tyutin – Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL
Anton Vonchenkov – Ottawa Senators, NHL
Forwards
Maxim Afinogenov – Atlanta Thrashers, NHL
Pavel Datsyuk – Detroit Red Wings, NHL
Sergei Fedorov – Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Ilya Kovalchuk – Atlanta Thrashers, NHL
Viktor Kozlov – Salavat Yulayev Ufa
Evgeni Malkin – Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL
Alexei Morozov – Ak Bars Kazan
Alexander Ovechkin – Washington Capitals, NHL
Alexander Radulov – Salavat Yulayev Ufa
Alexander Semin – Washington Capitals, NHL
Danis Zaripov – Ak Bars Kazan
Sergei Zinoviev – Salavat Yulayev Ufa
Team USA Buzz
Team USA’s final roster is nearly complete but evaluations have continued for the final defensemen spots.
Ryan Whitney is among the final 1-2 players in the mix and the injury to New Jersey Devils defenseman Paul Martin could open up a spot for Whitney.
Martin underwent another surgery on his broken left arm as he had a minor setback. He has not played since October 24th and will be sidelined until at least early February.