Former Stars winger Valeri Nichushkin not allowed to play in 2018 Olympics

The former NHL first-round pick is one of several Russian hockey players being barred from competing in Pyeongchang.

Former Dallas Stars winger Valeri Nichushkin is among five Russian hockey players who have been prohibited from participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics, according to TSN.

Center Sergei Plotnikov and defensemen Anton Belov, Alexei Bereglazov, and Mikhail Naumenkov have also had their status rejected by the International Olympic Committee for this year’s competition.

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation says the players were not “banned” by the IOC and that they merely did not receive invitations from the committee to compete this year. It also denies that the rulings have anything to do with the recent doping scandal that led to the national team’s ban.

However, it’s unclear how a ban differs from not being invited to participate. The federation says it’s requested information from the IOC on why those players aren’t allowed to play.

Here’s its full statement:

“Taking into account the heightened attention being paid to the question of our team participating at the tournament, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation feels it’s necessary to state that the mentioned five players have not been banned from taking part in competitions,” the federation said in a release. ”However, according to the IOC’s program for Russian athletes competing at the 2018 Olympic Games, they have not received an invitation to participate in the tournament.

”At the same time, the IOC stressed that these players are not guilty of breaching anti-doping rules. When inviting players to take part at the Olympic Games, the IOC considered a wide range of factors.

”The RIHF are requesting information from the IOC for the reasons why these players were not invited.”

The IOC has been reviewing the status of Russian athletes for the 2018 Olympics after the uncovering of a massive, state-sponsored doping scandal in the country. The committee ruled in December that the Russian national team was banned from the upcoming Games, but it would allow athletes to compete on a case-by-case basis under the official banner of Olympic Athletes from Russia.

So each member of the Russian men’s hockey team needed to get individual approval from the IOC to be eligible for Pyeongchang. According to Igor Eronko, big names like Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Slava Voynov have been ruled eligible, but Nichushkin is among those whose status has been rejected for unannounced reasons.

Even without those five players, the Olympic Athletes from Russia team will be the heavy favorite for the men’s hockey tournament. It’ll still have former NHL stars like Datsyuk and Kovalchuk, while the likes of Canada, Sweden, and the U.S. turned to a host of journeymen and prospects to fill their rosters.

But we now know at least five players who won’t be included on the roster, so the team won’t be quite as deep as anticipated.

Nichushkin, 22, was picked 10th overall by the Stars in the 2013 NHL Draft. He recorded 64 points in 166 games with Dallas during his age 18-20 seasons before returning to Russia to join CSKA Moscow, where he has 24 points in 47 games this season.

The Stars retain Nichushkin’s rights long term given the lack of a proper transfer agreement between the NHL and KHL. It’s expected that Dallas will try to bring the winger back to North America next season.