Datsyuk, Kovalchuk lead Russian Olympic hockey team

Posted: Updated:

MOSCOW (AP) - Former NHL players Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk will lead the hockey team of the "Olympic Athletes from Russia" at the Pyeongchang Games.

It's the fifth Olympics for both Datsyuk and Kovalchuk. They will be on a team drawn entirely from the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League.

The Russian roster - for a team which must play in neutral uniforms under the Olympic flag - also features former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov, who left the NHL following his arrest on felony domestic violence charges in 2014.

Five Russian players had failed to pass International Olympic Committee vetting imposed as part of Russia's punishment for doping offenses at the 2014 Olympics.

However, officials said only one of the five, former Pittsburgh Penguins winger Sergei Plotnikov, would have made the roster.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.