NHL stars Yevgeny Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin lead the way on Russia's hockey roster for its first home Winter Olympics in Sochi, with goaltender Semyon Varlamov also selected despite his legal problems this season.
The 25 man roster, released Tuesday, includes 10 players drawn from the Russia-based KHL, one more than at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Varlamov, who plays for the NHL's Colorado Avalanche and last month saw an assault charge against him dropped, is likely to fight for the starting goaltender spot with Vezina Trophy-winning Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The third goaltender on the roster is Alexander Yeryomenko, who has won the KHL title in the last two seasons with Dynamo Moscow.
The Olympics will take place from Feb. 7 through 23, with the men's hockey tournament running from Feb. 8-23.
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