Category Archives: Hockey News

7 players who should fill out Team Canada’s World Cup roster

The initial 16-player roster for the World Cup of Hockey is set, and Team Canada's brass - led by general manager Doug Armstrong - has less than three months to fill out the full 23-man roster.

Related: Crosby headlines Canada's initial 16-man World Cup roster

Here's a look at who should be getting the call:

Forwards

Corey Perry

It's rare for Perry and Ryan Getzlaf to be separated, and with the Anaheim Ducks center having already been named to the squad, the winger is sure to follow.

Perry is a Stanley Cup champion, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and a World Junior Championships gold medalist, and since Canada traditionally values pre-existing chemistry, expect him to line up alongside Getzlaf in this tournament.

Taylor Hall

The Edmonton Oilers remain a huge question mark, but it's no fault of Hall's. Among Canadian left wingers this season, Hall ranks second in points to Jamie Benn, who's already been named to the team.

The 24-year-old helped Canada to a World Championship in 2015, and should be called upon to represent his country once again as a premiere player at his position.

Claude Giroux

The Philadelphia Flyers captain has been as consistent as they come as an NHL center, averaging 0.9 points per game in his career.

Overlooked for the past two Winter Olympics, Giroux was a member of Canada's 2015 World Championship-winning team, and also won World Junior gold in 2008.

Canada is already stacked at center, but Giroux's right-handed shot could slot in as a winger, and a dynamic one at that.

Brad Marchand

The Boston Bruins winger sits in a tie with Benn for second among NHL players with 32 goals this season, and in six fewer games. Only Alex Ovechkin can boast a higher total.

And speaking of chemistry, Marchand has been excelling alongside Patrice Bergeron for years, and, like in Boston, this pair could give international opposition all it can handle at either end of the ice.

Don't forget, Marchand also has two World Junior gold medals as a member of the 2007 and 2008 teams.

Defensemen

P.K. Subban

This one's too easy.

Subban is one of the game's most exciting players, and is a Norris Trophy winner as the top player at his position.

Questions abound in regards to his propensity to give away the puck, but he leads the league in that category because a player of his skill level commands it on his stick as often as possible.

The World Cup is meant to be a showcase for the game's best players, and Subban is indeed just that. He should be on this team, especially with the tournament being played in his hometown.

Brent Burns

Among all defensemen this season, only Erik Karlsson has recorded more points than Burns, while the San Jose Sharks blue liner ranks first with 21 goals and 265 shots.

Like a few mentioned above, Burns played for the 2015 World Championship team, and his superb play offensively and defensively warrants a spot on the World Cup team, especially considering his familiarity with Marc-Edouard Vlasic, one of the four named to the initial roster.

Kris Letang

The Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman is sandwiched between Burns and Subban in terms of points by Canadian defensemen this season, and is, of course, familiar with star center Sidney Crosby.

A series of unfortunate injuries have befallen Letang in recent seasons, but the two-time World Championship gold medal winner and Stanley Cup champion has been good for 0.61 points per game in his career.

It's high time for Letang to be featured in a major international tournament.

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World Cup Wednesday: 16-man rosters unveiled

The 2016 World Cup of Hockey got a lot more real Wednesday.

Initial 16-man rosters were unveiled by the eight teams set to face off for global hockey supremacy in September.

Rosters

Uniforms

Features

  • 7 players who should fill out Team Canada's World Cup of Hockey roster

The Future

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NHL unveils 2016 World Cup jerseys

Hockey fans around the globe will have some slick new jerseys to add to their closets in the coming months.

With the 2016 World Cup set for September, and on the day when 16 players were named to each of the eight teams, the NHL also revealed the jerseys to be worn at the event, all courtesy of Adidas.

Here they are in all their glory, with the first four representing traditional European squads:

Czech Republic

Finland

Russia

The next two feature teams built specifically for this tournament, meaning the jerseys had to be designed from scratch:

Team Europe

Team North America

And finally, the reigning Olympic gold medalists and their neighbors to the south:

Canada

United States of America

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Patrick Kane leads USA’s initial World Cup roster

Patrick Kane will lead Team USA at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Here's a look at the initial 16-man roster for the American squad:

Forwards

Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens
Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks
Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild
Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets
T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals
Derek Stepan, New York Rangers
Ryan Kesler, Anaheim Ducks
Justin Abdelkader, Detroit Red Wings

Defensemen

Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild
Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets
Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers
John Carlson, Washington Capitals

Goaltenders

Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning
Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils

Seven more players will be named to the roster before the June 1 deadline.

Kings general manager Dean Lombardi is Team USA's GM, and Flyers president Paul Holmgren is the assistant general manager of the American contingent.

Calgary Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke is a senior advisor, while USA Hockey's Jim Johannson is the American World Cup team's director of hockey operations.

The USA won gold at the inaugural World Cup of Hockey in 1996.

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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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