World Cup of Hockey Preview

When the 2016 World Cup of Hockey was announced last fall, it was met with mixed results: some are excited just to have an international ice hockey tournament, while others see it as a gimmicky event that is simply a money-maker for the NHL; I am somewhere in the middle.  I think it is great to have a tournament that takes place before the season, as well as the fact that there is an under-23 North American team that will showcase the best young talent in the league.  On the other hand, I am concerned that the World Cup of Hockey will give the NHL owners more incentive to not allow their players to play in the Olympics in 2018.  As far as international tournaments go, nothing will ever replace or be as good as the Olympics and the Olympics without NHL players in it will be horrible. Hopefully fans are able to see NHL players in both the World Cup and the Olympics, but we will see.

The World Cup tournament is made up of eight teams:

• Team Canada
• Team USA
• Team Russia
• Team Czech Republic
• Team Sweden
• Team Finland
• Team North America - Canadian and American-born players, 23 years and younger
• Team Europe - the remaining players from countries without their own team

The Rosters

Team Canada

• GM Doug Armstrong - St. Louis Blues
• Head Coach Mike Babcock - Toronto Maple Leafs
• Assistant Coach Claude Julien - Boston Bruins
• Assistant Coach Bill Peters - Carolina Hurricanes
• Assistant Coach Joel Quenneville - Chicago Blackhawks
• Assistant Coach Barry Trotz - Washington Capitals

Forwards – Name and Professional Team
Patrice Bergeron – Boston Bruins	(C) Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins		Matt Duchene – Colorado Avalanche
Ryan Getzlaf – Anaheim Ducks	Claude Giroux – Philadelphia Flyers		Brad Marchand – Boston Bruins
Corey Perry – Anaheim Ducks	Tyler Seguin – Dallas Stars		Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning
John Tavares – New York Islanders	Joe Thornton – San Jose Sharks		(A) Jonathan Toews – Chicago Blackhawks
Logan Couture – San Jose Sharks
Defensemen – Name and Professional Team
Jay Bouwmeester – St. Louis Blues	Brent Burns – San Jose Sharks		Drew Doughty – LA Kings
Jake Muzzin – Dallas Stars	Alex Pietrangelo – St. Louis Blues		Marc-Edouard Vlasic – San Jose Sharks
(A) Shea Weber – Montreal Canadiens
Goaltenders – Name and Professional Team
Corey Crawford – Chicago Blackhawks		Braden Holtby – Washington Capitals		Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens

Injury Replacements: Corey Perry replaced Jeff Carter, Logan Couture replaced Jamie Benn, Jay Bouwmeester replaced Duncan Keith

Omissions: D Kris Letang (Pittsburgh) D P.K. Subban (Montreal), D Brent Seabrook (Chicago), F Rick Nash (NYR), F Taylor Hall (New Jersey)

Roster Analysis: Team Canada, as would be expected, has no real weakness and will go into the tournament as the favorites to win.  The only real conceivable way that they don't win gold is if they get in their own way.  We can find players that were left off the roster but who you are replacing with said players is the issue.  There are simply too many good players for the number of roster spots available...Canada should have two teams at these tournaments.  The biggest snubs appear to be on defense, but all of the defensemen left off the roster are right-handed and there would be too many on the roster if Subban and Letang were both added.  One way I could see them stumbling in the tournament would be if goalie Carey Price is rusty from not playing hockey in almost a year.  If he struggles, Holtby is certainly good enough to fill in, but it greatly weakens that position group.

Team USA

• GM Dean Lombardi
• Head Coach John Tortorella - Columbus Blue Jackets
• Assistant Coach Mike Sullivan - Pittsburgh Penguins
• Assistant Coach John Hynes - New Jersey Devils
• Assistant Coach Phil Housley - Nashville Predators
• Assistant Coach Jack Capuano - New York Islanders
• Assistant Coach Scott Gordon - Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL)

Forwards – Name and Professional Team
Justin Abdelkader – Detroit Red Wings	David Backes – Boston Bruins	Brandon Dubinsky – Columbus Blue Jackets
(A) Patrick Kane – Chicago Blackhawks	Ryan Kesler – Anaheim Ducks	T.J. Oshie – Washington Capitals
Max Paccioretty – Montreal Canadiens	Kyle Palmieri – New Jersey Devils	Zach Parise  - Minnesota Wild
(C) Joe Pavelski – San Jose Sharks	Derek Stepan – New York Rangers	James Van Riemsdyk – Toronto Maple Leafs
Blake Wheeler – Winnipeg Jets
Defensemen – Name and Professional Team
Dustin Byfuglien – Winnipeg Jets	John Carlson – Washington Capitals	Erik Johnson – Colorado Avalanche
Jack Johnson – Columbus Blue Jackets	Ryan McDonagh – New York Rangers	Matt Niskanen – Dallas Stars
(A) Ryan Suter – Minnesota Wild
Goaltenders – Name and Professional Team
Ben Bishop – Tampa Bay Lightning	Jonathan Quick – LA Kings		Corey Schneider – New Jersey Devils

Injury Replacements: Kyle Palmieri replaced Ryan Callahan

Omissions: F Phil Kessel (Pittsburgh), F Tyler Johnson (Tampa Bay), F Kyle Okposo (Buffalo), D Justin Faulk (Carolina), D Kevin Shattenkirk (St. Louis), D Cam Fowler (Anaheim), D Keith Yandle (Florida)

Roster Analysis: Team USA's roster structure is interesting to say the least.  Team USA management seem to be determined to correct the struggles that the team had during the Sochi Olympics when they failed to medal.  Instead of a speed-driven team, the type that wins in the NHL currently, the team is on the heavier, more disruptive side.  Instead of having a speedy, scoring winger like Phil Kessel, they have players like Justin Abdelkader and Brandon Dubinsky, players that won't win any scoring or speed-skating titles. On defense, they went with really familiar names like Erik and Jack Johnson, two players who have had their struggles in international tournaments, but failed to include Kevin Shattenkirk or Cam Fowler, both of whom were on the 2014 Olympic team.  This is definitely a Tortorella-picked team, who worked to construct this team like the one he had in New York and currently in Columbus, and we all know how those have worked out.  Team USA's best position group is in net, which is one of the best at the tournament.  The skill level in net will be needed because this team certainly will not be outscoring teams by wide margins

Team Russia

President Vladislav Tretiak

Head Coach Oleg Znarok - SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)

Assistant Coach Harijs Vitolins - Dynamo Moscow (KHL)

Forwards – Name and Professional Team
Artem Anisimov – Chicago Blackhawks	Evgenii Dadonov – SKA St. Petersburg	(A) Pavel Datsyuk – SKA St. Petersburg
Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning	Nikolay Kulemin – New York Islanders	Evgeny Kuznetsov – Washington Capitals
(A) Evgeni Malkin – Pittsburgh Penguins	Vladislav Namestnikov – Tampa Bay Lightning	(C) Alex Ovechkin – Washington Capitals
Artemi Panarin – Chicago Blackhawks	Vadim Shipachyov – SKA St. Petersburg	Ivan Telegin – HC CSKA Moscow
Vladimir Tarasenko – St. Louis Blues
Defensemen – Name and Professional Team
Alexei Emelin – Montreal Canadiens	Dmitry Kulikov – Buffalo Sabres	Alexei Marchenko – Detroit Red Wings
Andrei Markov – Montreal Canadiens	Nikita Nesterov – Tampa Bay Lightning	Dmitry Orlove – Washington Capitals
Nikita Zaitsev – Detroit Red Wings
Goaltenders – Name and Professional Team
Sergei Bobrovsky – Columbus Blue Jackets	Semyon Varlamov – Colorado Avalanche		Andrei Vasilevskiy – Tampa Bay Lightning

Replacements: Nikita Nesterov replaced Slava Voynov

Omissions: F Alexander Radulov (Montreal Canadiens), F Ilya Kovalchuk (SKA St. Petersburg)

Roster Analysis: Like most Russian national teams, this installment will also be high-scoring and appears to lack on defense.  A majority of their defensemen are either older or unknown in the NHL and look susceptible.  At forward, however, they will have plenty of players with scoring touch, including Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin.  Their forward group is this good despite the omissions of Alexander Radulov, a twenty goal scoring in the NHL, and Ilya Kovalchuk, who scored over 400 career goals in the NHL.  In net, Russia will probably go with one of the two veterans in Bobrovsky or Varlamov, even though they should probably start Vasilevskiy, who has gained significant playoff experience in the NHL over the past two seasons.  The Russian style of play will probably make it difficult for the team to win internationally, especially on the smaller rinks of North America.

Team Czech Republic

• President Tomas Kral
• General Manager Martin Rucinsky
• Head Coach Josef Jandac
• Assistant Coach Jaroslav Spacek

Forwards – Name and Professional Team
Radek Faksas – Dallas Stars	Michael Frolik – Calgary Flames	Martin Hanzal – Arizona Coyotes
Michal Birner - Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL)	Dmitrij Jaskin – St. Louis Blues	Roman Cervenka - HC Fribourg-Gotteron (Swiss)
Milan Michalek – Toronto Maple Leafs	Ondrej Palat – Tampa Bay Lightning	David Pastrnak – Boston Bruins
(C) Tomas Plekanec – Montreal Canadiens	Vladimir Sobotka – Avangard Omsk	Jakub Voracek – Philadelphia Flyers
Ales Hemsky – Dallas Stars
Defensemen – Name and Professional Team
Tomas Kundratek - Slvan Bratislava (KHL)	Michael Jordan – Carolina Hurricanes	Michal Kempny – Chicago Blackhawks
Zbynek Michalek – Arizona Coyotes	Jakub Nakladal – Calgary Flames	Roman Polak – San Jose Sharks
Andrej Sustr – Tampa Bay Lightning
Goaltenders – Name and Professional Team
Petr Mrazek – Detroit Red Wings	Michael Neuvirth – Philadelphia Flyers		Ondrej Pavalec – Winnipeg Jets

Injury Replacements: Michael Birner replaced Tomas Hertl, Tomas Kundratek replaced Radko Gudas, Roman Cervenka replaced David Krejci

Omissions: Jaromir Jagr (don't think he wanted to play, but still)

Roster Analysis: The Czech Republic team has been on the downswing internationally for awhile now compared to the teams of the 1990's and 2000's.  They have not medaled in an adult tournament since 2012 when they received a bronze at the World Championships.  Their roster is made up mostly of fringe NHLers or players that are beyond their prime.  With the recent injuries to David Krejci and Tomas Hertl, the Czech roster is extremely thin and questionable.

Team Sweden

• Head Coach Rikard Gronborg
• Assistant Coach Johan Garpenlov

Forwards – Name and Professional Team
Nicklas Backstrom – Washington Capitals	Loui Eriksson – Vancouver Canucks	Filip Forsberg – Nashville Predators
Carl Hagelin – Pittsburgh Penguins	Patric Hornqvist – Pittsburgh Penguins	Marcus Kruger – Chicago Blackhawks
Gabriel Landeskog – Colorado Avalanhe	(A) Daniel Sedin – Vancouver Canucks	(C) Henrik Sedin – Vancouver Canucks
Jakub Silfverberg – Anaheim Ducks	Carl Soderberg – Colorado Avalanche	Patrik Berglund - St. Louis Blues
Mikael Backlund – Calgary Flames
Defensemen – Name and Professional Team
Mattias Ekholm – Nashville Predators	Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Arizona Coyotes	Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lightning
Niklas Hjalmarsson – Chicago Blackhawks	Erik Karlsson – Ottawa Senators	Hampus Lindolm – Anaheim Ducks
Anton Stralman – Tampa Bay Lightning
Goaltenders – Name and Professional Team
Jhonas Enroth – Toronto Maple Leafs	Henrik Lundqvist – New York Rangers		Jacob Markstrom – Vancouver Canucks

Injury Replacements: Mikael Backlund replaced Henrik Zetterberg, Hampus Lindholm replaced Niklas Kronwall, Patrik Berglund replaced Rickard Rakell

Omissions: D John Klingberg (Dallas), F Gustav Nyquist (Detroit), F Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers)

Roster Analysis: Sweden will likely compete for gold at the World Cup.  It appears that they have nearly the same team as they did in Sochi.  Their roster is made up of great talent, depth, speed, veteran leadership, and youth.  They have no real weakness, apart from goaltending after starter Henrik Lundqvist.  If he gets inured or has a poor showing, Team Sweden may struggle against tougher competition like Canada.

Team Finland

• General Manager Jere Lehtinen
• Head Coach Lauri Marjamaki
• Assistant Coach Teppo Numminen

Forwards – Name and Professional Team
Sebastian Aho – Oulun Karpat (FIN)	Alexsander Barkov – Florida Panthers	Joonas Konskoi – San Jose Sharks
(A) Valtteri Filppula – Tampa Bay Lightning	Mikael Granlund – Minnesota Wild	Erik Haula – Minnesota Wild
(A) Jussi Jokinen – Florida Panthers	(C) Mikko Koivu – Minnesota Wild	Leo Komarov – Toronto Maple Leafs
Lauri Korpikowski – UFA	Patrik Laine – Winnipeg Jets	Jori Lehtera – St. Louis Blues
Teuvo Teravainen – Carolina Hurricanes
Defensemen – Name and Professional Team
Jyrki Jokipakka – Calgary Flames	Sami Lepisto – Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)	Esa Lindell – Dallas Stars
Olli Maatta – Pittsburgh Penguins	Ville Pokka – Chicago Blackhawks	Rasmus Ristolainen – Buffalo Sabres
Sami Vatanen – Anaheim Ducks
Goaltenders – Name and Professional Team
Mikko Koskinen – SKA St. Petersberg (KHL)	Tuukka Rask – Boston Bruins		Pekka Rinne – Nashville Predators

Roster Analysis: Finland's roster is made up of a lot of unknown players, guys who haven't come to the NHL yet.  Gone are Teemu Selanne and Kimmo Timmonen and young players like Patrik Laine will step in and help a Finnish team that has a great shot at medaling in the tournament.  Finland has made a routine out of winning on the international stage in recent competitions, despite not being the most talented group.  Instead, they rely on playing a system that the players buy into, and having a team with great chemistry.  They also have one of the strongest goalie units in this competition and this will serve as the anchor for the team.

Team North America

• GM Peter Chiarelli - Edmonton Oilers
• Associate GM Stan Bowman - Chicago Blackhawks
• Head Coach Todd McLellan - Edmonton Oilers
• Assistant Coach Jon Cooper - Tampa Bay Lightning
• Assistant Coach Peter DeBoer - San Jose Sharks
• Assistant Coach Dave Tippett - Arizona Coyotes
• Assistant Coach Jay Woodcroft - Edmonton Oilers

Forwards – Name and Professional Team
(A) Sean Couturier – Philadelphia Flyers	Jonathan Douin – Tampa Bay Lightning	Jack Eichel – Buffalo Sabres
Johnny Gaudreau – Calgary Flames	Dylan Larkin – Detroit Red Wings	Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche
Auston Matthews – Toronto Maple Leafs	(C) Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers	J.T. Miller – New York Rangers
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Edmonton Oilers	Brandon Saad – Columbus Blue Jackets	Mark Scheifele – Winnipeg Jets
Vincent Trochek – Florida Panthers
Defensemen – Name and Professional Team
(A) Aaron Eckblad – Florida Panthers	Shayne Gostisbehere – Philadelphia Flyers	Seth Jones – Columbus Blue Jackets
Ryan Murray – Columbus Blue Jackets	Connor Parayko – St. Louis Blues	Morgan Reilly – Toronto Maple Leafs
Jacob Trouba – Winnipeg Jets
Goaltenders – Name and Professional Team
John Gibson – Anaheim Ducks	Connor Hellebyuck – Winnipeg Jets		Matt Murray – Pittsburgh Penguins

Injury Replacements: Vincent Trochek replaced Sean Monahan

Omissions: F Alex Galchenyuk (Montreal)

Roster Analysis: Labeled the "young guns."  They have the potential to surprise teams at the tournament and have virtually no expectations placed on them.  If the coaches can implement a system that the players can buy into, they can be really good.  Their speed and youth is most aligned (out of tournament teams) with what the Pittsburgh Penguins used to win the Stanley Cup this past season. Their defense is experienced for as young as they are and will be led by Aaron Eckblad and Seth Jones, both of whom who have played for several years in the NHL.  In net, Matt Murray will have the opportunity to prove that the Stanley Cup run he led the Penguins on was no fluke.  

Team Europe

• GM Miroslav Satan
• Head Coach Ralph Krueger
• Assistant Coach Paul Maurice - Winnipeg Jets
• Assistant Coach Brad Shaw

Forwards – Name and Professional Team
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (France) – Philadelphia Flyers	Mikkel Boedker (Denmark) – San Jose Sharks	Leon Draisaitl (Germany) – Edmonton Oilers
Marion Gaborik (Slovakia) – LA Kings	Jannik Hansen (Denmark) – Vancouver Canucks	Marion Hossa (Slovakia) – Chicago Blackhawks
(C) Anze Kopitar (Slovenia) – LA Kings	Nido Niederreiter (Switzerland) – Minnesota Wild	Franz Nielsen (Denmark) – Detroit Red Wings
Tobias Reider (Germany) – Arizona Coyotes	Tomas Tatar (Slovakia) – Detroit Red Wings	Thomas Vanek (Austria) – Detroit Red Wings
Mats Zuccarello (Norway) – New York Rangers
Defensemen – Name and Professional Team
(A) Zdeno Chara (Slovakia) – Boston Bruins	Christian Ehrhoff (Germany) – UFA	Roman Josi (Switzerland) – Nashville Predators
Dennis Seidenberg (Germany) – UFA	Andrej Sekera (Slovakia) – Edmonton Oilers	Luca Sbisa (Switzerland) – Vancouver Canucks
(A) Mark Streit (Switzerland) – Philadelphia Flyers
Goaltenders – Name and Professional Team
Philipp Grubbauer (Germany) - Washington Capitals	Thomas Greiss (Germany) – New York Islanders		Jaroslav Halak (Slovakia) – New York Islanders

Roster Analysis: Team Europe is the group of leftover players from countries who couldn't put together an entire team; or perhaps the World Cup organizers only wanted 8 teams.  Either way, their forward group is talented and deep.  Their defensive unit after the 1st assumed pairing of Chara and Josi will likely be slow and susceptible to young and speedy players.  In net, they have a relatively lackluster group of goaltenders, most likely led by Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss.

Final Projections

1. Team Canada - just too talented with too much depth to not win this tournament
2. Team Sweden - similar to Canada in their talent level, but without the same depth at forward; what they lack in forward depth they more than make up for it with depth in the defensive unit.
3. Team North America - this will surprise a lot of people; but they have a lot of youth and talent that will give some of these older defensive groups some fits.  I think their "veteran" defensemen will be enough to prop up some of their younger d-men.
4. Team Finland - I thought this team had a chance to medal but I don't see them doing enough to jump over any of the teams in my top 3.
5. Team USA - I am an American but I hate this roster group.  Apart from Patrick Kane, I don't see anyone with an explosive ability to score at will.  Their big bodied roster will hinder their chances to keep up with teams like North America and Canada.
6. Team Russia - I just don't see the Russians as much of a threat anymore.  They haven't developed a solid goalie or defenseman in years and I don't know if Vasilevsky will get the opportunity to play in net over Bobrovsky and Varlamov.  They should score a lot of goals but may not be able to stop many from going in.
7. Team Europe - nothing exciting about this team; it's a group of players from a bunch of different countries all used to playing different schemes.  Their forward group should be able to compete in games, but their defensemen are relatively old and just plain bad.
8. Team Czech Republic - this country needs a revitalization to their hockey program with some youth.  They just seem like a team whose prime is long gone.