Anze Kopitar is representing Slovenia in the Olympics and he has his father, Matjaz, there as the coach. One player who isn’t there is his younger brother Gaspar.
Gaspar was thought to be an automatic addition to the team because of his experience playing in North America, but he didn’t make the team.
As Andy Potts at IIHF.com shares, leaving Gaspar off the team was hard on all the Kopitars.
“In the end I think the coach made the right decision but it was very hard for him and my brother - and for me, for that matter. Gaspar’s playing in the ECHL and they won’t have a break so he’s staying over there [during the Games].”
Having things be such a family affair in Slovenia makes for one of the more interesting stories. Especially with Kopitar being such a big star in the NHL. He’ll have just one former NHL player on the roster to team up with in former Detroit Red Wings prospect Jan Mursak, but not having your kid brother there to join in the fun is a bit of a bummer.