Former Montreal Canadiens striker Ilya Kovalchuk will serve as general manager of the Russian Olympic Committee’s men’s hockey team competing at the Beijing Olympics.
This was reported on Monday by various sources, among them The Athletic, citing the Russian organization. She also confirmed that Alexei Zamnov will be the head coach of the team, while Sergey Fedorov, Sergey Gonchar and Alexei Kudashov will take over the deputy duties. For his part, Evgeny Nabokov, the former coach of the San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning, will lead the goalkeepers.
Kovalchuk has no managerial experience in professional hockey. After totaling 926 regular-season National League games, he played for Omsk Avangard last season, appearing in 40 games, including 24 in the Continental League playoffs. He also helped pilot Bob Hartley’s squad win the Gagarin Cup.
Strikers Alexander Ovechkin and Nikita Kucherov, along with goalkeeper Andrei Vasilievsky, were the first three players selected by the Russian team for the Games.
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