Tony Granato, entering his second season as coach at Wisconsin, will be the head coach for the 2018 U.S. Olympic men's hockey team.

The final U.S. team will be formed shortly before the Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, which run from Feb. 9-25.

With NHL players not participating, the American team is likely to be composed of college players, European professionals and minor league players, meaning those players would just take a short break in their seasons.

The last time the Olympic Games did not include NHL players was 1994. The U.S. must submit a list of potential players to the International Olympic Committee in September.

Granato, a U.S. team assistant in the 2014 Sochi Games, was chosen Olympic head coach on Friday by USA Hockey. "This is an unbelievable compliment, and obviously I'm honored and humbled by that," he said.

His assistant coaches will be Chris Chelios, Keith Allain, Scott Young and Ron Rolston.

Team USA's first appearance under Granato will come in the Deutschland Cup in November, and several players from that tournament team could make the final U.S. roster.

Granato, 56, played on the U.S. Olympic team in 1988 in Calgary, and one of his teammates, USA Hockey official Jim Johannson, will be general manager of the 2018 squad. Granato, who played 13 seasons in the NHL and also coached the Colorado Avalanche, is the fifth U.S. coach to have played in the Olympics.

Johannson, a Rochester Mayo product who played with Granato at Wisconsin, said the list of players he will submit in September is likely to be long.