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2016 World Cup of Hockey preview: Team North America

By Dave Stevenson

Sep 11, 2016; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Team North America forward Dylan Larkin (71) with teammates Jonathan Drouin (72) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) and Connor McDavid (97) during the player introduction before a World Cup of Hockey pre-tournament game against Team Europe at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2016; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Team North America forward Dylan Larkin (71) with teammates Jonathan Drouin (72) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) and Connor McDavid (97) during the player introduction before a World Cup of Hockey pre-tournament game against Team Europe at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports /
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How will the North America team fare at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey? 

The 2016 World Cup of Hockey is drawing a bit of attention. One of the major reasons why is the inclusion of a North American team featuring players who are 23 years old or younger. The team is a wonderful idea. It makes the tournament more competitive and it gives a special group of young players the perhaps once in a lifetime chance to play together.

North America enters the World Cup with a 2-1-0 record, beating Team Europe 4-0 and 7-4 while losing to the Czech Republic 3-2. While North America lacks a bit in experience, they have three Stanley Cups between them (two by Brandon Saad and one by Matt Murray). Their average age? 22 years old. Do these Kids in America have what it takes to win the World Cup?

Forwards

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid serves as North America’s team captain. Quite telling that his teammates have that level of respect for him. With Auston Matthews, McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, North America has four of the last five number one overall picks. But they also have Jack Eichel and Jonathan Drouin, giving them six forwards drafted in the top three in their respective draft. That level of talent is extremely rare to see together on one team.

Related Story: World Cup of Hockey: One Player To Watch On Each Team

North America’s center depth is led by McDavid, Matthews, MacKinnon, Nugent-Hopkins, and Eichel. But their depth doesn’t stop there. They also have Mark Scheifele (61 points in 71 games in 2015-16), Sean Couturier (39 points in 63 games), and Vincent Trocheck (53 points in 76 games). North America isn’t quite as deep at center as Canada, but they have a ton of options down the middle.

Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames leads North America’s wings. Gaudreau finished seventh in the NHL in scoring last season with 78 points, tied for sixth in the league. Dylan Larkin (45 points in 80 games), J.T. Miller (43 points in 82 games), and Drouin (14 points in 17 playoff games) give North America a number of skilled options. Brandon Saad (53 points in 78 games) is the group’s veteran leader. They’re a very fast group and as they showed against Europe, they can score in bunches.

Defense

While North America’s defense is not quite as adept as their offense, they have a very talented group of blue liners. Between Aaron Ekblad, Ryan Murray, Morgan Rielly, and Seth Jones, North America has four top five picks since 2011 on their blue line. Ekblad (36 points in 78 games) is the team’s top defenseman. Murray and Jones, teammates with the Columbus Blue Jackets, form an impressive pairing. The often overlooked Rielly (36 points in 82 games) averaged nearly 20 minutes per game during the preliminary exhibition games.

Calder Trophy finalist Shayne Gostibehere (46 points in 64 games) provides North America with a significant offensive threat on their blue line. He has seen a lot of ice time during power plays. Don’t expect that to change. Colton Paryako (33 points in 79 games in his rookie season) and Jacob Trouba (21 points in 81 games) have rotated as the team’s sixth defenseman.

Goaltending

Goaltenders take a bit longer than other players to develop. So naturally, North America’s weakest position is probably their goalies. Still, they have a fairly impressive group. Matt Murray of the Pittsburgh Penguins is expected to be the primary starter. As a Stanley Cup champion, he has shown that he can handle pressure well.

Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck (.918 save percentage with 2.34 GAA) is a reliable option in net. However, Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson (.920 save percentage with 2.20 GAA) likely has the upper hand in the backup goalie battle.

Overall Outlook

North America is going to score a lot of goals at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. They’ll also be one of the most exciting teams at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. A reason why they will be is because their defense is understandably at a disadvantage. Defensemen take longer than forwards to develop, though they do have a pretty special batch of defensemen.

Looking at this team’s roster, you get the feeling that this is going to be a pretty special team. It should be a lot of fun to look at the roster 15 years from now and see how the players’ careers have gone.

Sadly, they might not get the chance to play against Team USA or Team Canada. They are in the same group as Finland, Russia, and Sweden. North America faces Finland on Sunday Sept. 18 at 8:00 PM EST. They will face Russia on Monday Sept. 19 at 8:00 PM EST. Finally, North America finishes group play with a game against Sweden on Wednesday Sept. 21 at 3:00 PM.

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