Las Vegas Hockey: Kicking Off the World Cup of Hockey
Las Vegas Hockey fans are going to go through a different year this season. It starts this Monday as training camps kick off for the World Cup of Hockey. We know that in just over one year from now the still Nameless Team will be kicking off its own maiden training camp. And while we have a year of nothing close to home to root for, we can dream of which talented players may find their way to the T-Mobile Arena.
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Dreams, yes and for the most part Las Vegas Hockey fans will be having pointless dreams for the World Cup. The rosters of the teams are loaded with the top players in the world and are going to be top of the list for their NHL teams to protect in the 2017 Expansion Draft.
Still, rosters are finalized. Who knows? Some might be available for trade when next year’s wheeling and dealing commences. In the NHL release:
"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."
A few of the Eastern European teams – especially Russia – have some players who play in their own national leagues.
A few of the rosters I will be watching:
TEAM NORTH AMERICA World Cup Roster
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 USA World Cup Roster
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
I will be going over the rosters over the next few days. The preliminary round games play starting September 17. All games will be played in Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.