COLUMBUS, Ohio — When the World Cup of Hockey returns in 2016, the new format includes a European all-star team and North American Young Stars (players 23 and under). Here’s a projection of what those teams may look like:
TEAM EUROPE
Goaltenders: Jaroslav Halak (Slovakia), Jonas Hiller (Switzerland), Frederik Andersen (Denmark)
Defencemen: Zdeno Chara (Slovakia), Dennis Seidenberg (Germany), Roman Josi (Switzerland), Christian Ehrhoff (Germany), Mark Streit (Switzerland), Andrej Sekera (Slovakia), Mirco Mueller (Switzerland), Xavier Oullet (France)
Forwards: Anze Kopitar (Slovenia), Tomas Tatar (Slovakia), Marian Gaborik (Slovakia), Thomas Vanek (Austria), Zemgus Girgensons (Latvia), Marian Hossa (Slovakia), Mats Zuccarello (Norway), Michael Grabner (Austria), Lars Eller (Denmark), Mikhail Grabovski (Belarus), Leon Draisaitl (Germany), Antoine Roussel (France), Nino Niederreiter (Switzerland).
Analysis: Goaltending is deep, and there’s some top-end talent at forward between Kopitar, Gaborik, Vanek and Zuccarello. Developing chemistry among players who speak many different languages and come from different places is the major test.
YOUNG STARS (Age on Sept. 1, 2016 in parentheses)
Goaltenders: John Gibson (23), Malcolm Subban (22), Zach Fucale (21)
Defencemen: Dougie Hamilton (23), Aaron Ekblad (20), Seth Jones (21), Morgan Rielly (22), Jacob Trouba (22), Cody Ceci (23), Mathew Dumba (22), Darnell Nurse (21).
Forwards: Connor McDavid (19), Jack Eichel (19), Nathan MacKinnon (21), Brandon Saad (23), J.T. Miller (23), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (23), Jonathan Huberdeau (23), Mark Scheifele (23), Johnny Gaudreau (23), Alex Galchenyuk (22), Sean Monahan (21), Curtis Lazar (21), Max Domi (21).
Analysis: The only real weakness is goaltending, as hockey is in a cycle where there aren’t a whole lot of netminders making an impact at the NHL level before age 23. The blue-line is stacked with young talent and different kinds of players. There’s enough skill up front to win some games or maybe even the tournament.
