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World Cup of Hockey 2016: All-Snub Team

By Dave Stevenson

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 9: Ryan McDonagh of Team U.S.A is introduced during the World Cup of Hockey Media Event on September 9, 2015 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 9: Ryan McDonagh of Team U.S.A is introduced during the World Cup of Hockey Media Event on September 9, 2015 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /

Lineup

Forward lines:

Gallagher – Galchenyuk – Kessel

Hall – O’Reilly – Perry

Johansson – Johnson – Burakovsky

Jenner – Backlund – Palmieri

Fabbri

Yes, Gallagher is playing on the left side despite being right handed. Still, on paper, this is a killer scoring line. Kessel and Galchneyuk each have recent 30 goal seasons and Gallagher is a flawless fit for this line. He’s tiny, but he crashes the net relentlessly and few are better at hounding the puck and getting it back quickly than him.

The O’Reilly line could be a great scoring line while also serving as a shutdown line. Perry’s defense is underrated and O’Reilly is a constant Selke Trophy contender. Hall also gives the line an elite offensive talent.

Johnson wouldn’t quite be getting the skilled players that he has with the Lightning, but Johansson and Burakovsky are similar to Palat and Kucherov. The O’Reilly line would allow this line to get the offensive zone starts that they need to be dominant.

The fourth line would have options. Palmieri deserves a spot because of his ability to score. With Palmieri, each line has at worst one capable goal scorer. Jenner is likely in there because of his defensive play and his willingness to go to the crease to score. Fabbri would add some more offense while Backlund provides more defense, depending on the matchup.

Defensive pairings:

Giordano – Subban
Klingberg – Letang
Yandle – Faulk
Shattenkirk

That first pairing is on par with any other pairing in the World Cup. Two guys who love to play the big minutes and flourish despite doing so. The second pairing fits the forwards perfectly. This team would need to score in order to win games. Letang and Klingberg would certainly help the team score more goals.

The third pairing is a very nice pairing. Yandle is an excellent puck mover while Faulk is a very underrated defensive talent. Faulk tends to get more attention for his eye-popping stats, but his defense has improved tremendously over the past year. Shattenkirk is the seventh defenseman, but he could provide more offense should the matchup call for that. He’d be a great mobile option in place of Faulk, who is an above average skater, but not as good as Shattenkirk.

A risky blue line, but with Brian Elliott in net, this team can afford to be risky. Would this team beat Canada? Probably not. But they would be a very competitive one.

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