Kovalchuk, who played 13 seasons in the NHL, will be joined on the management group by coach Alexei Zhamnov, assistant coaches Sergei Fedorov, Sergei Gonchar and Alexei Kudashov, and goaltending coach Evgeni Nabokov.
The Russian Olympic Committee is scheduled to begin play in the tournament against Switzerland on Feb. 9.
Kovalchuk, the No. 1 pick by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2001 NHL Draft, will work his first job in management. The former forward scored 876 points (443 goals, 433 assists) in 926 NHL games during 13 seasons for the Thrashers, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals. He scored 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 40 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in the 2012 postseason to help the Devils advance to the Stanley Cup Final, a six-game loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
A two-time 52-goal scorer for the Thrashers (2005-06 and 2007-08), Kovalchuk is the seventh-highest scoring Russia-born player in NHL history. He was named most valuable player at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, scoring seven points (five goals, two assists) in six games after helping the Olympic Athletes from Russia win a gold medal.
Zhamnov played 807 NHL games and scored 719 points (249 goals, 470 assists) during 13 seasons for the Winnipeg Jets, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins, and 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 35 playoff games. He is GM of HC Spartak in the Kontinental Hockey League and played for the Unified Team and Russia in three Olympic games, winning gold (1992 Albertville), silver (1998 Nagano) and bronze medals (2002 Salt Lake City).
Fedorov won the Stanley Cup three times with the Detroit Red Wings (1997, 1998, 2002) and was the first Russia-born player to win the Hart Trophy voted as MVP of the NHL, when he scored 120 points (56 goals, 64 assists) in 1993-94. The former forward scored 1,179 points (483 goals, 696 assists) in 1,248 games during 18 seasons for the Red Wings, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals and 176 points (52 goals, 124 assists) in 183 playoff games.
Fedorov won Olympic silver (1998) and bronze (2002) and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015. He was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in 2017.
Gonchar won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009. The former defenseman scored 811 points (220 goals, 591 assists) in 1,301 games during 20 seasons with the Capitals, Boston Bruins, Penguins, Ottawa Senators, Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens and 90 points (22 goals, 68 assists) in 141 postseason games.
Gonchar is a two-time Olympic medal winner (silver, 1998; bronze, 2002).
Kudashov, who played 25 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1993-94, is the head coach of HC Dynamo Moscow in the KHL. The former forward helped the Soviet Union to a second-place finish at the World Junior Championship in 1990 and 1991 and a fourth-place finish at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.
Nabokov played for the San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning during 14 NHL seasons, going 353-227-57 with 29 ties, a 2.44 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and 59 shutouts in 697 games (683 starts). He was 42-42 with a 2.43 GAA, .908 save percentage and seven shutouts in 86 playoff games (84 starts).
Nabokov won the 2000-01 Calder Trophy voted as NHL rookie of the year and was a finalist in voting for the 2007-08 Vezina Trophy given to the top goalie. Nabokov is first in Sharks history in games played (563), wins (293) and shutouts (50), and helped Russia win the 2008 IIHF World Championship, the country's first tournament victory since 1993.
Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, and Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy were the first names submitted to be part of the Russian Olympic Committee to play at the 2022 Olympics. The remainder of the 25-player team is expected to be announced in January.
"It's the best of the best," Vasilevskiy said. "It will be pretty interesting to try myself against the best players in the world.
"It's great for the guys, great for our team. … It will be a different experience for all of us. I'm pretty sure probably half of our team will go to the Olympics."
NHL.com independent correspondent Corey Long contributed to this report
