Bowman, the GM of the Chicago Blackhawks, will be joined by Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin, who will be assistant GM.
"Expectations are great," Bowman said. "We know it's a challenge. We're ready to roll our sleeves up and get to work."
NHL players could participate in the Olympics for the first time since 2014 as part of the four-year extension of the NHL/NHLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement that was ratified by the NHL Board of Governors and the NHL Players' Association on July 10, 2020.
Participation is pending an agreement between the NHL, NHLPA, International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation.
The Olympic tournament is scheduled to run from Feb. 4-20, 2022.
Bowman said he will not rush to name a coach, but said it needs to be someone with NHL experience if NHL players are going to participate.
USA Hockey is hoping to hold an evaluation camp in the summer pending an agreement to send NHL players to the Olympics.
"We're looking for the best staff that we can build and we don't have any preconceived notions going in," Bowman said. "That's obviously a very important position moving forward. The coach is going to play a role in helping us choose our roster. We're going to take our time."
Bowman, who grew up in Buffalo, has won the Stanley Cup three times as Blackhawks GM (2010, 2013, 2015) since he was named to the position July 14, 2009. In addition to his role as GM, he was promoted to president of hockey operations Dec. 16, 2020.
Bowman has been part of the U.S. Men's National Team Advisory Group since 2012, helping to select players and staff for various teams. He was a co-general manager for Team North America in the World Cup of Hockey 2016.
"Just look around the NHL, which is the greatest league in the world, and we've got American players all over the place doing special things every night," Bowman said. "We've got a very deep pool and that's a great situation to be in."
Guerin, from Worcester, Massachusetts, is in his second season as Wild general manager after five seasons as an assistant GM for the Pittsburgh Penguins, when he won the Stanley Cup twice (2016, 2017). He also won the Cup twice as a player (New Jersey Devils, 1995; Penguins, 2009).
Guerin played as a forward for the U.S. Olympic team three times (1998, 2002 and 2006), including the silver-medal team at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, where he scored four goals in six games.
"I think I can bring those individual experiences to the table in how players think and what they're going through," Guerin said. "There definitely has to be a buy-in factor. I think the one tricky thing is everybody that is going to be on this team is going to be a star on their current NHL team, and you have to assume roles. It's our job and the coach's job to keep everybody happy and make sure there is great buy in."
The U.S. men's team finished seventh at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, when NHL players did not participate. It was fourth at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and lost the gold-medal game to Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher said there is a Plan B for the management team if NHL players do not play in the Beijing Olympics, but they remain hopeful and optimistic it will happen.
"You can talk about pressure or you can look at it as a great opportunity, and that's how I look at it," Bowman said. "This is something that's exciting to be part of. It's a challenge."
