After almost leading the Pittsburgh Penguins into the Stanley Cup playoffs, goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic will try to help the United States win gold in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) World Championship tournament.
USA Hockey announced Nedeljkovic was added to its roster on Wednesday morning.
The tournament, which will be staged in Czechia, is scheduled to begin on Friday and last until May 26.
A native of Parma, Ohio, Nedeljkovic appeared in 38 NHL games this season and posted an 18-7-7 record along with a 2.97 goals against average, a .902 save percentage and one shutout.
In the final weeks of the 2023-24 campaign, Nedeljkovic came close to driving the Penguins into a playoff berth. Starting the final 13 games of the regular season, Nedeljkovic had an 8-1-3 record. Thanks to his efforts, the Penguins finished with a 38-32-12 record and 88 points and weren’t formally eliminated from postseason contention until the penultimate day of their regular season schedule.
Nedeljkovic previously played for the United States on the international stage in IIHF World Junior Championship tournaments in 2015 and 2016, winning bronze in 2016.
Several members of the Penguins are slated to participate:
• Nedeljkovic will join assistant coach Ty Hennes who was named to the United States’ staff in an identical capacity.
• Forward Michael Bunting was named to Canada’s roster while president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas is serving as an associate general manager for that country.
• Defensemen Erik Karlsson and Marcus Pettersson were selected to Sweden’s roster.
• Forwards Jesse Puljujarvi and Valtteri Puustinen will suit up for Finland.
• Forward prospect Raivis Ansons is part of Latvia’s roster.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.