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Andy Miele named captain of U.S. men's Olympic hockey team

Andy Miele named captain of U.S. men's Olympic hockey team
Posted at 10:46 PM, Feb 09, 2022
and last updated 2022-02-09 23:36:18-05

Forward Andy Miele will captain the United States men's hockey team during the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Miele played 15 NHL games for the Phoenix Coyotes between 2011-2014, and has since found success in the AHL and KHL. He's scored 36 points in 47 games for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod this season, which ranks 21st in the KHL. 

The 33-year-old from Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, has Team USA experience having performed during the IIHF Men’s World Championships in 2011 and 2014 plus the 2017 Deutschland Cup.

The U.S. also named defensemen Steven Kampfer and Aaron Ness plus forward Noah Cates alternate captains.

Kampfer, 33, played 20 games for the Boston Bruins in 2020-21 and currently competes in the KHL. The Jackson, Michigan, native is second on the Ak Bars Kazan with 30 points. 

Ness, 31, plays for the Providence Bruins in the AHL and was an NHL second-round pick by the New York Rangers in 2008. He is from Roseau, Minnesota. 

Cates turned 23 years old last Saturday and skates for the University of Minnesota Duluth. He scored a goal during the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships and was a fifth-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in the the 2017 NHL Draft. 

“We have a great leadership group with Andy, Aaron, Steven and Noah,” head coach David Quinn said in a statement. “There’s a lot of leaders in our room, and to get to our ultimate goal of winning gold, it will take everyone moving forward together.”

The ROC won the gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, while the U.S. finished in seventh place. 

America's opening preliminary game begins Thursday at 8:10 a.m. in a Group A matchup against China. 

Check out the full men's hockey schedule here

SEE MORE: ROC takes down Switzerland in first game of men's tournament