Former Sabres captain Brian Gionta’s lacing up the skates again, this time sporting the “c” for Team USA in South Korea next month at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

This is the first winter Olympics in about 20 years without the NHL sending its players, so Team USA is comprised of a cadre of young up-and-comers, and aged veterans with prior NHL experience.

Gionta certainly qualifies in the latter category, having retired from the pros last season.  Why did Team USA come calling the Rochester native when they started building their team?

That answer, and his thoughts on traveling to South Korea in a turbulent time are in the audio below: