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Brian Gionta named captain as US unveils Olympic roster

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2017, file photo, then-Buffalo Sabres right wing Brian Gionta (12) skates in the first period during an NHL hockey game against the Arizona Coyotes, in Glendale, Ariz. USA Hockey revealed its roster for the upcoming Deutschland Cup, the best indication so far of what the Olympic team will look like without NHL players.The 29-player roster includes Gionta. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2017, file photo, then-Buffalo Sabres right wing Brian Gionta (12) skates in the first period during an NHL hockey game against the Arizona Coyotes, in Glendale, Ariz. USA Hockey revealed its roster for the upcoming Deutschland Cup, the best indication so far of what the Olympic team will look like without NHL players.The 29-player roster includes Gionta. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)

Veteran winger Brian Gionta will serve as captain of the U.S. Olympic hockey team at the Winter Olympics, which will be the first without NHL players since 1994.

USA Hockey announced its roster Monday at the Winter Classic in New York. It includes college players Troy Terry, Jordan Greenway, Will Borgen and Ryan Donato.

Without the ability to name NHL stars like Patrick Kane, Johnny Gaudreau, Auston Matthews and Jonathan Quick, the U.S. roster is a mix of players from the NCAA ranks, European professional leagues and the American Hockey League. AHL star Chris Bourque and a handful of former NHL players now in Europe, including Mark Arcobello, Jim Slater, James Wisniewski and Bobby Sanguinetti, are expected to help Gionta on the leadership front.

Ryan Zapolski, who plays for Jokerit in the Kontinental Hockey League, is the only goaltender on the roster so far, with two more to be added later in January.

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By The Associated Press