Tyler Seguin is returning to Texas after a much shorter than expected stint at the World Cup of Hockey.
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While the “orchestra” theme may have seemed like a cute idea for the introduction, it really wasn’t necessary when the circumstances of the 1996 World Cup tournament and the developing rivalry between the USA and Canada was more than sufficient to establish a prologue for the rest of the story.
“I think he’s just good in every area”, Crosby said of Bergeron. O’Reilly probably slides into that extra forward role, but we’ll see if he manages to get into Canada’s lineup for their final pre-tournament game to show what he can do.
So this coming week ESPN will be covering the World Cup of Hockey and there will be commercials and hype, but in the end this is the network the sport needs to grow it to new levels not NBC and NBCSN. “You can’t go wrong with the guys they picked”.
Carey Price should be a lock to start in goal.
Braden Holtby, last season’s Vezina Trophy victor, and Corey Crawford, a two-time Stanley Cup victor, are otherwise available, another show of Canada’s incredible depth. “In this event, because you’re only playing three games and two teams are moving on, you want to try and make sure that you gain as many points as possible each night and you don’t want to wade into anything slowly”. The potential of highly-skilled youngsters, including Johnny Gaudreau, Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Auston Matthews, is mouth-watering. In 1996, they tried to spread the word by playing World Cup games in Stockholm, Helsinki, Prague and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, as well as in Ottawa, New York, Philadelphia and finally Montreal.
The defense is led by superstar Erik Karlsson and all-around Tampa Bay Lightning stalwart Victor Hedman, complemented by Anton Stralman, Hampus Lindholm, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He has the skating ability for worldwide competitions and he has the ability to put the puck in the net.
The Canadians’ talent up front is unparalleled. Again, goaltending can be an advantage.
Coach John Tortorella’s biggest decision? They opted against bringing back Phil Kessel, their leading scorer from that tournament, and will rely instead on feisty, blue-collar types such as David Backes, Brandon Dubinsky, Justin Abdelkader and Ryan Kesler.
The eight-team event, featuring numerous NHL’s biggest stars, six national teams and two mixed squads of North Americans age 23 and under, and NHL players from the European countries that did not get an invite, will be held in Toronto Sept. 17 to October 1. And if you can’t get on the ice, at least you’ll br ready for this World Cup to start already!
This isn’t the aging roster led by Teemu Selanne that won bronze in Sochi. Thirteen players on the 23-man roster are aged 25 and younger.
The teams are a little different from the typical National teams. Finnish goalies Pekka Rinne and Tuukka Rask solidify the net and are two of the toughest to put the puck past.
That certainly is the case for John Tavares, who was knocked out of the 2014 Sochi Olympics with ligament damage in his left knee, an injury that caused him to miss the remainder of the 2013-14 National Hockey League season.
When fans last saw Sobotka, he set career highs with nine goals, 24 assists, and 33 points. Soccer figured this out by having Euros in between World Cup quadrennials. Znarok made no commitment to Bobrovsky long term over Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche.
On defense, Chara will be joined by 38-year-old Mark Streit, 35-year-old Dennis Seidenberg, and 34-year-old Christian Ehrhoff.
Add Slovenian stalwart Anze Kopitar and three above-average goalies and you have a team that will be both entertaining and educational.
Jaroslav Halak is a solid option in goal.
Coverage of the World Cup of Hockey 2016 on WatchESPN will include an alternate feed in addition to the traditional telecast.
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Petr Mrazek, the likely No. 1 netminder who was one of the NHL’s best for the first half of last season, could be the difference.
