Bryan Rust, Pittsburgh Penguins (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Penguins’ Bryan Rust Named to U.S. Men’s Olympic Orientation Camp

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Spencer Lazary | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 8:25 AM ET

Today (Aug 19th), Team USA’s Olympic management group announced the 44 players that have been invited to the 2025-26 men’s Olympic orientation camp. One of the players invited was Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust, who is looking to earn a spot on Team USA for what could be the last time in his career.

The orientation camp takes place on August 26-27th in Plymouth, Michigan. It’s a two-day event that is administrative based and doesn’t include any on-ice activities, so there won’t be any fan attendance. As for the Olympic Games, the final 25-man roster should be announced in early January.

Rust Needs to Earn a Spot

Rust joins 23 other forwards at the camp, however, only 19 of those forwards are considered to be competitive after four of them were part of the first six players named to the roster. Some of the biggest-name forwards that Rust will need to compete with to earn a spot are Clayton Keller, Dylan Larkin, Tage Thompson and Kyle Connor.

Now, Rust isn’t going to be a top-six forward on Team USA. In fact, he may play on the fourth line, which means there are players like Conor Garland, Shane Pinto, Chris Kreider and Matthew Knies that Rust will be competing with to earn a spot. It is doable. There have been times in the past when Olympic rosters have prioritized veteran forwards rather than younger players who could play a similar role. He is considered a scrappy, rugged forward that would fit very well in the bottom six on Team USA.

Rust, 33, is coming off a season where he scored 31 goals and 34 assists for 65 points in 71 games. That is a new career-high in goals and points but matches his career-high in assists. He is poised to have another strong year in the upcoming season, playing alongside Sidney Crosby on the top line. Over his 11 years in the NHL, he has scored 203 goals and 234 assists for 437 points in 638 games.

Rust’s Experience at the International Level

Rust has represented his country numerous times, however, he hasn’t been given the opportunity since 2009-10 at the World Juniors. He was selected to play in the U17 tournament as well as the U18. Unfortunately, since he went to play in the NCAA in 2010-11, he hasn’t been selected to represent his country. After 11 years in the NHL, his time has come to finally be given the chance to play for Team USA and get his chance to win a gold medal for the first and last time in his career.