World Cup of Hockey: Team Europe initial roster

Team Europe has announced its initial 16 man roster for the World Cup of Hockey

The World Cup of Hockey will be taking place in September of 2016. It will feature six countries, a Europe team, and a younger team of North American stars against each other in a friendly exhibition tournament. The Europe team will consist of any European country other than Sweden, Finland, Russia, Finland, and the Czech Republic. It will feature numerous countries and it is a unique way to show how much hockey has grown globally.

Goaltenders

Frederik Andersen – Denmark (Anaheim Ducks)

Jaroslav Halak – Slovakia (New York Islanders)

Andersen and Halak should start most of the World Cup of Hockey tournament games for this team. They have a plethora of options for their third goaltender.

Defensemen

Zdeno Chara – Slovakia (Boston Bruins)

Roman Josi – Switzerland (Nashville Predators)

Mark Streit – Switzerland (Philadelphia Flyers)

Dennis Seidenberg – Germany (Bruins)

Andrej Sekera – Slovakia (Edmonton Oilers)

A very experienced blue line led by Chara and Streit. Josi is an excellent addition as well. But can this experienced group keep up with the speed that other countries will feature?

Forwards

Tomas Tatar – Slovakia (Detroit Red Wings)

Anze Kopitar – Slovenia (Los Angeles Kings)

Marian Hossa – Slovakia (Chicago Blackhawks)

Thomas Vanek – Austria (Minnesota Wild)

Leon Draisaitl – Germany (Oilers)

Mats Zuccarello – Norway (New York Rangers)

Mikkel Boedker – Denmark (Colorado Avalanche)

Frans Neilsen – Denmark (Islanders)

Jannik Hansen – Denmark (Vancouver Canucks)

Solid but not overly impressive forward group. Watching Kopitar and Toews share the ice should be rewarding. Zuccarello is a very underrated scoring option who should flourish. Hansen has the Sedins to thank for his roster spot because he has spent so much time with the Wonder Twins this season.