Mike Sullivan will be named head coach of the U.S. men’s Olympic ice hockey team for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, a source confirmed Monday.
Sullivan is a worthy selection given his resume since being named Penguins coach in 2015. He has led the team to a pair of Stanley Cup titles. He finished in the top six in voting for the Jack Adams Award in each of the last two seasons. And in 2021, he climbed to third all-time in wins by an American head coach.
Sullivan, a Massachusetts native who played in the NHL for 11 seasons, has been involved in the USA Hockey program for more than four decades. He often speaks at coaching clinics and assists with grassroots efforts to grow the game.
Since retiring as a player in 2002 and getting into coaching, he has held various roles with U.S. teams participating in international competitions, including being an assistant coach at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. Most recently, the 53-year-old was an assistant for Team USA at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was first to report Sullivan is the U.S. coach.
The NHL in February will pause the 2021-22 season for the Winter Olympics. NHL players did not participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. It was the first time since 1998 that NHL players were prohibited from playing.
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mattvensel.
First Published: July 26, 2021, 8:54 p.m.