Sidney Crosby headlines Team Canada’s initial 16-man World Cup roster

The first 16 players have been named to Canada's 2016 World Cup roster and, not surprisingly, the team will be built around Sidney Crosby.

Here's a look at the initial list:

Forwards

Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings
Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
John Tavares, New York Islanders
Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks

Defensemen

Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, San Jose Sharks
Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

Goaltenders

Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals

"This has been a very extensive process which involved multiple face-to-face meetings and conference calls," Team Canadian general manager Doug Armstrong said . "Some very difficult decisions had to be made to narrow down our selection to only 16 players, which is a testament to the depth of player talent in Canada.

"Our management group wanted to balance respecting the contributors to past Team Canada successes, as well as respecting the players that have emerged as top players in the NHL. We will use the NHL playoffs and the upcoming World Championship to make the final roster decisions in early June."

Of these first 16 players selected, 12 have won gold at the Olympic Winter Games and 11 have won gold at the IIHF World Junior Championship. On top of that, the team boasts seven NHL team captains and eight Stanley Cup champions, five of whom are multi-time champions.

The team will be coached by Mike Babcock, and the rest of the 23-man roster will be named June 1.

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McDavid, Eichel highlight North America’s initial World Cup roster

Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel will team up to lead Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

The first two picks in the 2015 draft were among the 16 players named to the initial roster for the under-23 team from the western hemisphere.

Forwards

McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames
J.T. Miller, New York Rangers
Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets
Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers

Defensemen

Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs
Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
Ryan Murray, Columbus Blue Jackets

Goaltenders

John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
Connor Hellebuyck, Manitoba Moose (AHL)
Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins

Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, Montreal Canadiens center Alex Galchenyuk, and Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins certainly could have been named to the initial roster, and may still be named to the final edition before the June 1 deadline.

Team North America will be led by Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli, Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman - in the associate GM role - and Edmonton head coach Todd McLellan.

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Chara, Kopitar headline Team Europe World Cup roster

Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara and Los Angeles Kings forward Anze Kopitar will lead a team of Europe's finest at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Team Europe announced its initial 16-player roster Wednesday. With players coming from European countries outsides of the power-houses of Russia, Sweden, Finland, and Czech Republic, general manager Miroslav Satan had his hands full, but his initial 16 looks to be steady.

Forwards

F Mikkel Boedker, Colorado Avalanche (Denmark)
F Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (Germany)
F Jannik Hansen, Vancouver Canucks (Denmark)
F Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks (Slovakia)
F Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings (Slovenia)
F Frans Nielsen, New York Islanders (Denmark)
F Tomas Tatar, Detroit Red Wings (Slovakia)
F Thomas Vanek, Minnesota Wild (Austria)
F Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers (Norway)

Defensemen

D Chara, Boston Bruins (Slovakia)
D Roman Josi, Nashville Predators (Switzerland)
D Dennis Seidenberg, Boston Bruins (Germany)
D Andrej Sekera, Edmonton Oilers (Slovakia)
D Mark Streit, Philadelphia Flyers (Switzerland)

Goaltenders

G Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks (Denmark)
G Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders (Slovakia)

Related: World Cup of Hockey roster announcements schedule

The only glaring omission appears to be Kopitar's teammate in Los Angeles, forward Marian Gaborik. The 34-year-old has suited up for his native Slovakia on more than a dozen occasions most recently at the 2011 World Championships.

Gaborik is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season as he nurses a knee injury.

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NHL confirms next World Cup in 2020

The NHL expects the World Cup of Hockey to be a regular occurrence.

The tournament will take place every four years, with the next one in 2020, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr announced Wednesday.

Related: World Cup of Hockey roster announcements schedule

The Toronto edition of the tournament will take place this September, and Daly expects future host cities will be selected through a bidding process.

Daly said they've considered holding the event midseason, similar to the Olympics, but it's unlikely they head down that road since September gives the competing countries time to hold training camps.

The inaugural edition of the tournament will take place from Sept. 17 to Oct.1.

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PHOTOS: World Cup team logos apparently leaked

The 2016 World Cup of Hockey will truly be unlike anything we've ever seen.

While clubs began to announce their initial 16-man rosters Wednesday, leaked logos for the teams also began surfacing online Wednesday through Icethetics, with each established team appearing to offer slight variations on looks we've come to expect - and others having to start from scratch.

Team USA appears to have found a new take on its simple logos of the past.

Canada has seemingly overhauled the classic maple leaf, with changes including chopping off the stem.

Things get interesting with Team Europe, which reportedly has a slick blue-and-teal crest with the letter E and what looks to be a hockey stick, resembling the Vancouver Canucks' current third jersey.

Things get intriguing with the under-23 North American team, whose logo apparently includes an interlocking "NA" hanging over the Roman numerals for 23.

Here is a look at all the logos:

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