The 2016 World Cup of Hockey Thread

[Balls Mahoney]

Well... this is going to be a thing, I guess...

From the official NHL and NHLPA releases:

COMPLETE ROSTERS FOR 2016 WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY

173 NHL Players Selected To Compete in Best-on-Best International Tournament; Two Blue-Chip Prospects for 2016 NHL Draft Also Named

TORONTO – All eight teams announced today their final 23-man rosters for the World Cup of Hockey 2016, the best-on-best international hockey championship that will be held Sept. 17 – Oct. 1 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Each of the eight teams -- Team Canada, Team Czech Republic, Team Europe, Team Finland, Team North America, Team Russia, Team Sweden and Team USA -- added seven players today, joining the 16 selected to the respective teams on March 2. A total of 173 of the 184 selections are NHL players, plus two others -- Team North America forward Auston Matthews and Team Finland forward Patrik Laine -- who were early first-round selections in the 2016 NHL Draft.

The World Cup of Hockey 2016 is a joint effort of the National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association, in cooperation with the International Ice Hockey Federation. Live coverage of all tournament games will be provided by Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada and ESPN in the United States.

2016 WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY FINAL ROSTERS

(rosters comprised of 20 skaters, 3 goaltenders; *players selected May 27)

TEAM CANADA

G Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks

G Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals

G Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens

D Jay Bouwmeester, St. Louis BluesSt. Louis Blues

D Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks *

D Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

D Jake Muzzin, Los Angeles Kings *

D Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues *

D Marc-Edouard Vlasic, San Jose Sharks

D Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

F Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins

F Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings

F Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks replaces Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars

F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, captain

F Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche *

F Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks

F Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers *

F Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins *

F Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars

F Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

F John Tavares, New York Islanders

F Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks *

F Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks

TEAM CZECH REPUBLIC

G Petr Mrazek, Detroit Red Wings

G Michal Neuvirth, Philadelphia Flyers

G Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets

D Radko Gudas, Philadelphia Flyers

D Michal Jordan, Carolina Hurricanes *

D Michal Kempny, Chicago Blackhawks

D Zbynek Michalek, Arizona Coyotes *

D Jakub Nakladal, Calgary Flames *

D Roman Polak, San Jose Sharks

D Andrej Sustr, Tampa Bay Lightning

F Radek Faksa, Dallas Stars *

F Michael Frolik, Calgary Flames

F Martin Hanzal, Arizona Coyotes

F Ales Hemsky, Dallas Stars *

F Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks

F Dmitrij Jaskin, St. Louis Blues *

F David Krejci, Boston Bruins

F Milan Michalek, Toronto Maple Leafs *

F Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning

F David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins

F Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens, captain

F Vladimir Sobotka, Avangard Omsk (KHL)

F Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers

TEAM EUROPE (country in parentheses)

G Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks (Denmark)

G Thomas Greiss, New York Islanders (Germany) *

G Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders (Slovakia)

D Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins (Slovakia)

D Christian Ehrhoff, Chicago Blackhawks (Germany) *

D Roman Josi, Nashville Predators (Switzerland)

D Luca Sbisa, Vancouver Canucks (Switzerland) *

D Dennis Seidenberg, Boston Bruins (Germany)

D Andrej Sekera, Edmonton Oilers (Slovakia)

D Mark Streit, Philadelphia Flyers (Switzerland)

F Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Philadelphia Flyers (France) *

F Mikkel Boedker, Colorado Avalanche (Denmark)

F Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (Germany)

F Marian Gaborik, Los Angeles Kings (Slovakia) *

F Jannik Hansen, Vancouver Canucks (Denmark)

F Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks (Slovakia)

F Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings (Slovenia)

F Nino Niederreiter, Minnesota Wild (Switzerland) *

F Frans Nielsen, New York Islanders (Denmark)

F Tobias Rieder, Arizona Coyotes (Germany) *

F Tomas Tatar, Detroit Red Wings (Slovakia)

F Thomas Vanek, Minnesota Wild (Austria)

F Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers (Norway)

TEAM FINLAND

G Mikko Koskinen, SKA St. Petersburg (KHL) *

G Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins

G Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

D Jyrki Jokipakka, Calgary Flames *

D Sami Lepisto, Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL) *

D Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars

D Olli Maatta, Pittsburgh Penguins

D Ville Pokka, Rockford IceHogs (AHL) *

D Rasmus Ristolainen, Buffalo Sabres

D Sami Vatanen, Anaheim Ducks

F Sebastian Aho, Karpat Oulu (Liiga) *

F Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

F Joonas Donskoi, San Jose Sharks

F Valtteri Filppula, Tampa Bay Lightning

F Mikael Granlund, Minnesota Wild

F Erik Haula, Minnesota Wild *

F Jussi Jokinen, Florida Panthers

F Mikko Koivu, Minnesota Wild, captain

F Leo Komarov, Toronto Maple Leafs

F Lauri Korpikoski, Edmonton Oilers

F Patrik Laine, Tappara Tampere (Liiga) *

F Jori Lehtera, St. Louis Blues

F Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks

TEAM NORTH AMERICA

G John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks

G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

G Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins

D Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers

D Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers *

D Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets

D Ryan Murray, Columbus Blue Jackets

D Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues *

D Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs

D Jacob Trouba, Winnipeg Jets *

F Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers

F Jonathan Drouin, Tampa Bay Lightning *

F Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres

F Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames

F Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings

F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

F Auston Matthews, Zurich SC Lions (Swiss NLA) *

F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

F J.T. Miller, New York Rangers

F Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames

F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers *

F Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets

F Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets *

TEAM RUSSIA

G Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets

G Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche

G Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

D Alexei Emelin, Montreal Canadiens *

D Dmitry Kulikov, Florida Panthers

D Alexey Marchenko, Detroit Red Wings *

D Andrei Markov, Montreal Canadiens

D Dmitry Orlov, Washington Capitals

D Nikita Nesterov, Tampa Bay Lightning replaces D Slava Voynov, SKA St. Petersburg (KHL) *

D Nikita Zaitsev, Toronto Maple Leafs *

F Artem Anisimov, Chicago Blackhawks

F Evgenii Dadonov, SKA St. Petersburg (KHL) *

F Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

F Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

F Nikolay Kulemin, New York Islanders

F Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals

F Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins

F Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning

F Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

F Artemi Panarin, Chicago Blackhawks

F Vadim Shipachev, SKA St. Petersburg (KHL) *

F Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues

F Ivan Telegin, CSKA Moscow (KHL) *

TEAM SWEDEN

G Jhonas Enroth, Toronto Maple Leafs replaces G Robin Lehner, Buffalo Sabres

G Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

G Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks

D Mattias Ekholm, Nashville Predators *

D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes

D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

D Niklas Hjalmarsson, Chicago Blackhawks

D Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators

D Hampus Lindholm, Anaheim Ducks replaces D Niklas Kronwall, Detroit Red Wings

D Anton Stralman, Tampa Bay Lightning

F Mikael Backlund, Calgary Flames replaces F Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings

F Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals

F Loui Eriksson, Boston Bruins

F Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators

F Carl Hagelin, Pittsburgh Penguins *

F Patric Hornqvist, Pittsburgh Penguins *

F Marcus Kruger, Chicago Blackhawks *

F Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche

F Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks replaces F Alexander Steen, St. Louis BluesSt. Louis Blues

F Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

F Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

F Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks *

F Carl Soderberg, Colorado Avalanche *

TEAM USA

G Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning

G Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings

G Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils

D Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets

D John Carlson, Washington Capitals

D Erik Johnson, Colorado Avalanche *

D Jack Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets *

D Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers

D Matt Niskanen, Washington Capitals *


D Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild

F Justin Abdelkader, Detroit Red Wings

F David Backes, St. Louis Blues *

F Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils replaces F Ryan Callahan, Tampa Bay Lightning *

F Brandon Dubinsky, Columbus Blue Jackets *

F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

F Ryan Kesler, Anaheim Ducks

F T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals

F Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens

F Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild

F Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks

F Derek Stepan, New York Rangers

F James van Riemsdyk, Toronto Maple Leafs *

F Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets

Hooray?

Click to read more...

 

[Canadian Canuck]

Go Canada! Then North America

 

[Shareefruck]

Ugh. Having a Team Europe and Team North America just makes it so clear that the whole thing is a lame farce. Like an extended All-Star weekend.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Pretty much a sad cash grab...

I'll watch it lol.

 

[Josepho]

I think Baertschi got completely snubbed in favour of Bellemare, but whatever.

It doesn't matter, because Sweden's going to win. Absolutely disgusting defence and goaltending, with offence that is far from shabby. Kronwall's injury was a total blessing in disguise for Sweden's GM.

Hedman-Stralman
OEL-Karlsson
Lindholm-Hjalmarsson

6 of those guys are on my Top 30 defenceman list
5 of them are on my Top 20 defenceman list
4 of them are on my Top 10 defenceman list
3 of them are on my Top 5 defenceman list
2 of them are on my Top 3 defenceman list
1 of them is on my Top 1 defenceman list

I'm rootin' for 'em too. I'm not particularly interested in this tournament, but it's our first taste of hockey in a long time, so why the **** not?

 

[The Stig]

If it wasnt September and I wasnt hockey starved, I wouldnt give 2 craps about it.

 

[Zombotron]

I think Baertschi got completely snubbed in favour of Bellemare, but whatever.

It doesn't matter, because Sweden's going to win. Absolutely disgusting defence and goaltending, with offence that is far from shabby. Kronwall's injury was a total blessing in disguise for Sweden's GM.

Hedman-Stralman
OEL-Karlsson
Lindholm-Hjalmarsson

6 of those guys are on my Top 30 defenceman list
5 of them are on my Top 20 defenceman list
4 of them are on my Top 10 defenceman list
3 of them are on my Top 5 defenceman list
2 of them are on my Top 3 defenceman list
1 of them is on my Top 1 defenceman list

I'm rootin' for 'em too. I'm not particularly interested in this tournament, but it's our first taste of hockey in a long time, so why the **** not?

Yeah, I'm with you.

 

[PM]

Show your continental pride and root for Team North America.

 

[MS]

A completely unnecessary tournament with an idiotic format.

Honestly, I'm cheering for the makeshift teams just to enhance the joke. Go team U-23!

 

[Balls Mahoney]

I'll be interested to watch Laine and Matthews. But yeah, the only thing I'm hoping for with this tournament is no one on my fantasy team gets injured.

All my life I've been programmed to despise Team Canada. Now with Team North America, I don't even know what's going on anymore. What's next? Dogs and cats living together? Mass Hysteria?

 

[Jyrki21]

It would be cool to see the Czechs and Slovaks field a joint team again in one of these international tournaments to get another powerhouse in there. It seems weird to have Slovakia lumped in with Team Miscellaneous when for a while there they were producing some of the NHL's best scorers with regularity.

If it weren't politically charged, it would be interesting to see Quebec (or Ontario) parsed out as well.

And while I wasn't really planning to watch, I'm definitely pulling for Team Miscellaneous. Sbisa is lifting that cup/bowl/whatever the trophy is, man.

 

[VanillaCoke]

The young stars team should be fun to watch

 

[Tobi Wan Kenobi]

Who owns this game????? Does team North America under 23 own this game? Once and for all who owns it!!!????

 

[DCantheDDad]

Who owns this game????? Does team North America under 23 own this game? Once and for all who owns it!!!????

I think it is pretty clear that Gary Bettman owns it. Now that would be a good twist ending to that commercial.

 

[BrockBoeser6]

Just to add to the joke they should've had a legends team with a bunch of guys in their 40's and 50's.

 

[DL44]

Can't wait to see Sbisa.
And I wonder if they'll put Eriksson with the twins... you would think so. I'll be looking for that line.

Lots of iffy D corps.... Czechs looks very bad, Europe isn't deep, Finns and Russia surprisingly unremarkable...

 

[PM]

Just to add to the joke they should've had a legends team with a bunch of guys in their 40's and 50's.

Hell I'd go even older than that. I want to see Wayne captain the old timers team against McDavid and the whipper snappers team for the final.

 

[Hollywood Burrows]

Definitely cheering for the u-23 team. The whole tournament is a ridiculous farce, but at least it's hockey.

 

[Baby Pettersson]

Don't see why do many people are against this whole tournament. It's a great way to see the best players in the world play eachother. Joke or not I'm pumped to watch some hockey.

 

[The Stig]

Don't see why do many people are against this whole tournament. It's a great way to see the best players in the world play eachother. Joke or not I'm pumped to watch some hockey.

Because its an obvious money grab and an excuse for the NHL to not send players to the Olympics. Theres no history to it. No prestige. Hell the World Championships at the end of the year mean more. It's a glorified All Star weekend. If it was legit, every country would be eligible to qualify and there wouldn't be crap like "Team Europe".

 

[PM]

The Olympics are the golden standard of international hockey in this era and the NHL trying find ways to squirm out of it, such as this "replacement" tournament, is the main reason a lot of people I know aren't into this. They just see this as the NHL taking one step towards no Olympic participation and are immediately turned off by it. I'd honestly rather watch a Team Canada of junior aged and overseas Canadians try their hardest and probably lose against a stacked KHL heavy Team Russia in the actual Olympics than this exhibition tournament put on by the NHL.

With that said I will probably watch a bit given that I want to watch some ****ing hockey now that it's rainy and depressing out. I've said this a million times but start the damn NHL season in mid September and finish by mid May. Watching playoff hockey in June when it's finally nice out after 8 months of darkness is ridiculous.

 

[Baby Pettersson]

Don't see how this will convince players any differently not to go to the Olympics. If you wanna participate in the Olympics you participate in the Olympics. Screw if Bettman says otherwise. I just wanna enjoy some all star hockey in a more competitive environment then the actual all star game. It may not be on par with the Olympics, but I still think it will be entertaining!

 

[PG Canuck]

Go young stars or whatever they are called. Would be great if they won.

 

[Pip]

meh seeing hockey is still pretty cool

 

[RandV]

Because its an obvious money grab and an excuse for the NHL to not send players to the Olympics. Theres no history to it. No prestige. Hell the World Championships at the end of the year mean more. It's a glorified All Star weekend. If it was legit, every country would be eligible to qualify and there wouldn't be crap like "Team Europe".

With or without the world Cup, heading into 2014 the NHL was growing weary of sending players to the Olympics especially with the prospect of back to back games in Asia. They're great for the NHL when its being held in North America, but otherwise the business minds were probably seeing diminishing returns. Sucks for us fans and the players, but at the end of the day it's a business and the IOC is hardly a generous partner.