Anze Kopitar, Jonas Hiller named to respective Olympic teams

Kings center Anze Kopitar was named to Slovenia’s Olympic hockey roster and Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller was named to the roster for Switzerland on Monday, one day before 25-man rosters for the Sochi Olympic hockey tournament must be submitted.

Kopitar will make his Olympic debut for Slovenia, which will make its first Olympic appearance. His selection is no surprise: He’s the only current NHL player on the roster and his father, Matjaz, will coach the team. However, his younger brother, Gasper, did not make the roster. Gasper recently joined the Ontario Reign of the ECHL.

Hiller will make his second Olympic appearance for Switzerland. He will have several other NHL teammates, including Calgary Flames goalie Reto Berra, defensemen Rafael Diaz (Montreal Canadiens), Roman Josi (Nashville Predators), Mark Streit (Philadelphia Flyers), and Yannick Weber (Vancouver Canucks). Up front, Switzerland has chosen Damien Brunner (New Jersey Devils), and Nino Niederreiter (Minnesota Wild).

For both countries, players from domestic and European leagues will fill out the Olympic rosters. Here’s a link to the International Ice Hockey Federation’s announcement of the two countries’ selections.

Ducks defenseman Luca Sbisa, who has missed most of this season because of injuries, was listed on Switzerland’s reserve list, meaning he could replace an injured player between now and the start of the Olympic tournament.

The roster for Team USA was announced last week. Defending champion Canada is expected to announce its roster Tuesday morning.

ALSO:

Quarterback Brett Hundley to stay at UCLA

Don Mattingly, Dodgers making progress on new contract

Brett Hundley’s true-to-blue loyalty is great news for UCLA football