Pittsburgh natives Ryan Malone and Dylan Reese have been selected to the 2017 U.S. Men’s National Select Team that will compete for the Deutschland Cup from Nov. 10 – 12 in Augsburg, Germany.
The Deutschland Cup is an annual four-team tournament hosted by the German Ice Hockey Federation. The American team will compete against squads from Slovakia, Russia and the hosting German team.
The U.S. team for the Deutschland Cup is usually comprised of American-born players that are currently playing professionally in Europe. This season is no different, with Malone as one of two players that will leave a North American club to take part in the tournament.
Malone, 37, is playing for the Iowa Wild in the NHL, the top farm club of the Minnesota Wild. The Upper St. Clair native did not play in the 2015-16 or 2016-17 seasons. Malone was a fourth-round pick of the Penguins in 1999 and played four years in Pittsburgh, skating on the wing of Evgeni Malkin on the run to the 2008 Stanley Cup Final. He then spent six seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning and part of one with the New York Rangers.
Reese, 33, is in his second season with HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League. He has two goals and two assists in four games after recording 12 points in 24 games last season. The offensive-minded defenseman was drafted by the New York Rangers in 2003. He’s played 78 career NHL games with the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyotes.
Because it is an Olympic year, the Deutschland Cup team will be led by 2018 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team head coach and former Penguins assistant Tony Granato. This season, players under NHL contract are not eligible to play in the Olympics, so the Deutschland Cup tournament will also double as something of a tryout for the Olympic squad.
Malone has represented his country three times, most notably in the 2010 Olympic Games, when he won a silver medal. He won a bronze medal at the the 2004 IIHF World Championships and also played for the US squad in the 2006 that lost in the quarterfinal. Reese played in the Deutschland Cup in 2013, when the American team won. That was the last victory for the US team.
