Mike Sullivan was picked United States coach for the 2026 Milan Olympics on Saturday, an anticipated relocation that puts the two-time Stanley Cup champ in charge of the nation’s quote for its very first gold medal given that the Miracle On Ice in 1980. U.S.A. Hockey likewise revealed the Pittsburgh Penguins coach will lag the bench for the Four Nations Face-Off next year, a competition the NHL will display in February 2025 for a taste of global competitors leading up to the Olympics. Milan marks the return of NHL gamers to the Olympics after missing out on the previous 2. “We’re delighted to have Mike directing our groups,” United States basic supervisor Bill Guerin stated. “He is among the best coaches in the video game and his background, consisting of with worldwide hockey, is appropriate to assist put our group in the very best position to win.” Sullivan, a local of Marshfield, Massachusetts, was an assistant at the 2006 Olympics, likewise in Italy in Turin. Most just recently he was on John Tortorella’s personnel for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Each of those occasions went disastrously for the United States, who likewise lost to ultimate champ Canada in the semi-finals of the 2014 Sochi Olympics and after that to Finland in the bronze-medal video game. NHL are set to be back in Milan and after that France in 2030 after a contract was reached in between the league, Players’ Association, International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation. It’s a chance for a generation of American stars, consisting of Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Adam Fox, Charlie McAvoy and strong gamers in objective to lastly complete together on the world phase. Sullivan, who coached Pittsburgh to the Cup, will run the program. He was expected to coach the United States in Beijing in 2022 before the NHL withdrew late since of pandemic scheduling concerns. “I am beyond grateful to have the chance to coach Team USA in these 2 considerable worldwide occasions,” Sullivan stated in a release. “It’s been incredible to see the development we’ve made in hockey in our nation throughout my profession. I am honored to lead our finest gamers and I anticipate the obstacle that lies ahead.” Sullivan, 56, likewise formerly coached the Boston Bruins throughout his prolonged profession that started in the early 2000s. He has actually been with Pittsburgh because being promoted as a midseason replacement in 2015-16. As a gamer, he represented the United States at the world juniors in 1988 and the world champion in ’97. “Mike Sullivan is not just a terrific coach however somebody who has a strong enthusiasm for American hockey,” USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher stated. “He’s a first-rate leader and been a fundamental part of hockey in our nation for a long time.”