World Cup of Hockey: Team North America initial roster

Team North America 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 North American team will consist of players who are 23 years old or under. It should be a very exciting team and it’s a wonderful way for the NHL to showcase their (hopefully) future stars.

Goaltenders

John Gibson (Anaheim Ducks)

Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets)

Matthew Murray (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Extremely talented but unproven trio of goalies. Gibson is the lone proven one of the three though Hellebuyck showed flashes of greatness during his time in the NHL this season. The trio should split time at the World Cup of Hockey.

Defensemen

Aaron Ekblad – Canada (Florida Panthers)

Seth Jones – USA (Columbus Blue Jackets)

Ryan Murray – Canada (Blue Jackets)

Morgan Rielly – Canada (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Huge shocker here as Shayne Gostisbehere wasn’t on the initial roster. Murray is a but of a surprise but his chemistry with Jones should help. Find Ekblad a partner and they have two awesome pairings.

Forwards

Connor McDavid – Canada (Edmonton Oilers)

Jack Eichel – USA (Buffalo Sabres)

Dylan Larkin – USA (Detroit Red Wings)

Nathan MacKinnon – Canada (Colorado Avalanche)

Johnny Gaudreau – USA (Calgary Flames)

Sean Monahan – (Flames)

Brandon Saad – USA (Blue Jackets)

J.T. Miller (New York Rangers)

Sean Couturier – USA (Flyers)

Miller is the lone surprise here. Should be a very young and exciting group. How amazing is the inevitable Gaudreau, McDavid, and MacKinnon line going to be?