NHL players and coaches won't be in Beijing when the Olympics open on Feb. 4.
The Penguins had three players who were all but locks to make their countries' Olympic rosters if the NHL participated in Sidney Crosby (Canada), Evgeni Malkin (Russia) and Teddy Blueger (Latvia), with Jake Guentzel (U.S.), Bryan Rust (U.S.), and Kasperi Kapanen (Finland) also being possible selections. Mike Sullivan was named head coach of the U.S. team, and selected Todd Reirden as one of his assistants.
While those players won't be participating, there's no shortage of former Penguins and prospects who will be representing their countries next month. Of the 12 countries participating in the men's tournament, only the rosters from China, Finland, Denmark, Slovakia have no Penguins ties.
Here's a look at all of the Penguins' ties in the tournament.
CANADA
Three players who spent time in the Penguins' organization will play for Canada.
Forward Daniel Winnik is the lone one of those players who spent time on the NHL roster. Winnik was acquired by the Penguins in a trade with Toronto in February 2015 that saw Zach Sill, a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick going back to Toronto. Winnik played 21 games to finish the regular season, scoring two goals and seven assists, and was scoreless in five playoff games. He returned to Toronto in free agency that summer. Winnik last played in the NHL in 2018 and has played in the Swiss league the last four years.
Forward Ben Street was an undrafted free agent signed out of college by the Penguins in 2010. Street spent his first pro season split between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Wheeling, winning ECHL Rookie of the Year honors. He spent the full 2011-12 season in Wilkes-Barre before leaving in free agency. He currently plays for EHC Munchen in the German league.
Defenseman Alex Grant was the Penguins' fourth-round pick in 2007 and spent four years in Wilkes-Barre, with stints in Wheeling during the first two years. He was a big part of the 2013 Wilkes-Barre team that overcame an 0-3 series deficit in the second round of the playoffs against Providence to move onto the Eastern Conference Final. Grant has played for KHL club Jokerit in Finland for the last four years.
Eric Staal, brother of former Penguin forward Jordan, was also named to the roster.
Current Wilkes-Barre defenseman Chris Bigras had been on Canada's long list of players, but is currently week-to-week with an injury, ending his Olympic chances.
Nolan Baumgartner will serve as assistant coach. Baumgartner played five games for the Penguins in the 2003-04 season after the Penguins claimed him off waivers from Vancouver. The Penguins waived him after nearly a month and he was reclaimed by Vancouver.
RUSSIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
The Russians will look to defend their gold medal next month.
Only one ex-Penguin will be on the roster when they do it, and he wasn't in Pittsburgh very long.
Sergei Plotnikov was a bust of a free agent signing in 2015 out of the KHL. After recording just two assists in 32 games in Pittsburgh, he was traded to the Coyotes, where he recorded one assist in 13 games to finish the season. He returned to Russia that offseason and has been bouncing around the KHL since, currently playing for CSKA Moskva.
Former Penguins defenseman and assistant coach Sergei Gonchar will be one of the Russian assistant coaches. Gonchar hasn't worked with another team since being fired by the Penguins in 2020.
SWEDEN
A former Penguins prospect, Lukas Bengtsson, was named to Sweden's defense corps.
Bengtsson was an undrafted free agent signing out of the SHL in 2016, and his two years in Wilkes-Barre were marred by health issues. Bengtsson missed time his first season for what was originally believed to be Lyme disease, and eventually received a diagnosis of POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), a condition that affects blood flow, that spring. Bengtsson has played in the KHL for the last three seasons, and is currently playing for Minsk.
CZECHIA
There aren't any players with their own Penguins ties on the Czech roster, but there are two brothers of a current Penguin.
Tomas and Hynek Zohorna, older brothers of Radim, are two of the forwards on the Czech roster. Both players play for IK Oskarshamn in the Swedish league.
Former Penguins forward Petr Nedved, who played in Pittsburgh from 1995-97, is the general manager of the Czech team.
UNITED STATES
Former Penguins defenseman and Wilkes-Barre captain David Warsofsky will play for Team USA.
Warsofsky had three separate stints in the Penguins organization. He first signed with the Penguins in July 2015, and played 12 games in Pittsburgh and 17 in Wilkes-Barre before being claimed by New Jersey on waivers. He signed back in Pittsburgh that offseason, spending most of the year in Wilkes-Barre with seven games in Pittsburgh. He once again returned to the Penguins in 2019, signing a two-year contract. He was named captain of Wilkes-Barre and spent the full year in the AHL before being traded to Toronto in the offseason in the trade that brought Kasperi Kapanen back to Pittsburgh.
Forward Kenny Agostino, a draft pick of the Penguins who never played for the team, is also on Team USA. Agostino was the Penguins' fifth-round pick in 2010. The Penguins never signed him to a contract, instead trading his rights to Calgary in the Jarome Iginla trade while Agostino was still in college. Agostino went on to play 86 NHL games, last with the Maple Leafs last season. He currently plays for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL.
Current Penguins director of player development and former Penguins forward Scott Young will be one of the team's assistant coaches. Young, who was also an assistant coach for Team USA in 2018, is in his fifth season in his role with the Penguins. He played 1,181 games over 17 years in the NHL. He was part of the Penguins' first Stanley Cup win in his one season playing for the team after being acquired from the Whalers in the Rob Brown trade in December 1990.
GERMANY
The Germans have the most players with Penguins connections of any team, with forwards Tom Kuhnhackl, Dominik Kahun, Matthias Plachta, and Freddie Tiffels
Kuhnhackl was a fourth-round pick of the Penguins in 2010, and spent parts of four seasons in Wilkes-Barre (with stints in Wheeling the first two years) before making his NHL debut during the 2015-16 season. He was part of both Stanley Cup runs, playing in 24 games in the 2016 playoffs and 11 games in the 2017 playoffs. He left the Penguins in free agency in 2018 and spent three years in the Islanders' organization. He currently plays for Skelleftea AIK in the Swedish league.
Kahun was acquired by the Penguins in the Olli Maatta trade with Chicago in June 2019. He played 50 games for the Penguins in 2019-20, scoring 10 goals and 27 assists, before being traded to Buffalo for Conor Sheary and Evan Rodrigues. He signed in Edmonton last season, then left the NHL this past summer, signing a three-year deal with SC Bern of the Swiss league.
Plachta was the return the Penguins got when they managed to unload Plotnikov in a trade. Plachta played 20 games in Wilkes-Barre to finish the 2015-16 season before returning to Germany to play for Adler Mannheim, where he remains today.
Tiffels was the Penguins' sixth-round pick in 2015, and made his professional debut in 2017-18 upon leaving college. He split that year between Wheeling and Wilkes-Barre, moving between the two teams a total of 11 times. He and the Penguins mutually agreed to terminate his contract during training camp the following season so Tiffels could return to play in Germany. He currently plays for EHC Munchen.
SWITZERLAND
Yannick Weber is the lone ex-Penguin playing for the Swiss team.
Weber was a free agent signing last season when the Penguins were hit hard with injuries on defense. Weber played two games for the Penguins then spent the rest of the year on the taxi squad. He returned home to Switzerland to play for the ZSC Lions in the offseason.
LATVIA
The Latvians have just one player who played in the Penguins' system in forward Renars Krastenbergs.
Krastenbergs joined the Nailers in the 2018-19 season and finished No. 3 in scoring that season with 19 goals and 25 assists in 62 games. He earned an AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre the following summer, but spent the next full season in Wheeling. He returned to Latvia in the offseason and is currently playing in the Austrian league.
Viktors Ignatjevs, a former defenseman who played 11 regular-season games and one playoff game for the Penguins in 1998-99, will serve as one of Latvia's assistant coaches.
