Canada
is set to begin the IIHF World Championship on Saturday against
Slovenia with an all-NHL lineup.
It
didn’t look like that a week ago when several junior-aged and
European-based players were in the lineup. However, in what THN’s
Adam
Proteau described as “The Sidney Crosby Effect,” once the
Pittsburgh Penguins superstar declared his intention to play in his
third career World Championship on Sunday,
he was soon followed by Nathan MacKinnon and Marc-André
Fleury. Since then, Stanley Cup first-round casualties Jared Spurgeon, Mike Matheson, Jordan Binnington, Brayden Schenn and Phillip
Danault have joined the team.
The
only non-NHLer
remaining on the roster is presumptive third-string goalie Dylan
Garland of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, who is unlikely to see
tournament action unless there’s an injury.
A
similar thing happened back in 2015, the last time Crosby played in a
World Championship. Canada’s roster was looking run-of-the-mill
that spring until Crosby said yes after the Penguins missed the
playoffs. By the time Canada took the ice for its first game, the
team included the likes of Taylor Hall, Matt Duchene, Claude Giroux,
Jason
Spezza, Jordan Eberle, Tyler
Seguin, Dan
Hamhuis
and Brent Burns. It also included MacKinnon, Schenn and Ryan
O’Reilly,
who are all back this year.
That
Canadian team started with a 6-1
win over Latvia, finished with a 6-1 win over Russia in the final,
and
ran the table with a perfect 10-0 record in that tournament, winning
every game in regulation time and outscoring its opponents 66-15.
Since
then, no team has managed a perfect record at the Worlds. We’ll soon see how far this roster can take the team.
Goaltenders:
Marc-André Fleury (Minnesota
Wild), Dylan Garand (Hartford Wolf Pack, AHL / New
York Rangers), Jordan
Binnington (St. Louis Blues).
Defensemen:
Noah Dobson (New
York Islanders), Ryker Evans (Seattle
Kraken), Mike Matheson (Montreal
Canadiens), Brandon Montour (Seattle
Kraken), Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia
Flyers), Jared Spurgeon (Minnesota
Wild), MacKenzie Weegar (Calgary
Flames).
Forwards:
Macklin Celebrini (San
Jose Sharks), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh
Penguins), Will Cuylle (New York
Rangers), Phillip Danault (Los
Angeles Kings), Adam Fantilli (Columbus
Blue Jackets), Tyson Foerster (Philadelphia
Flyers), Barrett Hayton (Utah
HC), Bo Horvat (New
York Islanders), Kent Johnson (Columbus
Blue Jackets), Travis Konecny (Philadelphia
Flyers), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado
Avalanche), Ryan O’Reilly (Nashville
Predators), Brayden Schenn (St. Louis
Blues).
