Two former NHL players — Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk — will lead Russia's men's hockey team at the Pyeongchang Games, Russia Hockey announced Thursday, but former Stars winger Valeri Nichushkin and ex-Penguins winger Sergei Plotnikov are among five players who have been prohibited from participating with the team next month in South Korea, according to TSN .

It will be the fifth Olympics for both Datsyuk and Kovalchuk, this time playing for a team dressed in neutral uniforms under the Olympic flag because of sanctions against Russia for what the IOC says was state-sponsored doping at past Games. 

Sanctions or no, the team is considered a gold-medal favorite. A similar Russian roster beat Canada, Finland and Sweden in an exhibition tournament last month in Moscow.

In addition to Nichushkin and Plotnikov, defensemen Anton Belov, Alexei Bereglazov and Mikhail Naumenkov won't be allowed to compete, the IOC ruled following its vetting process. According to The Associated Press , Russia Hockey officials maintained that only Plotnikov would've made the 2018 roster.

Current NHL players aren't participating in the games for the first time since 1994, but the team made up entirely of players from the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League also includes former Kings defenseman Slava Voynov, who bolted the NHL after his arrest on felony domestic violence charges in 2014, and forward Vadim Shipachyov, who three months ago walked away from a deal with the Golden Knights.

The KHL has suspended its regular season for a month to allow Russia's players to prepare for and participate in Pyeongchang, where the country will be eager to make a statement in its limited participation.