World Cup of Hockey 2016 preview: Team Europe
How will Team Europe and its group of misfits do at the World Cup of Hockey?
One of the more interesting aspects of the World Cup of Hockey is that there are two special teams. The first is a group of North American players 23 years old or younger. A group of European players will form the second team. Because their countries aren’t necessarily up to par with Russia, Sweden, Canada, and the United States, they rarely get to experience international success.
All of that could change because those European players are forming Team Europe. While they are one of the oldest teams at the tournament, they are also the most experienced. Led by an intriguing forward group and an experienced blue line, could Team Europe upset some teams at the World Cup?
Forwards
Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar (74 points in 81 games) will also be the captain for Team Europe. The 29-year old center is Europe’s best chance to win the tournament. He has captained the Kings to two Stanley Cups, so don’t rule out Europe. Kopitar will likely play with New York Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello (61 points in 81 games) and San Jose Sharks forward Mikkel Boedker (51 points in 80 games).
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New Detroit Red Wings center Frans Nielsen (52 points in 81 games) will be their second line center. Teammate Tomas Tatar (45 points in 81 games) and Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa (33 points in 64 games) will most likely be his wings. However, after the first two forward lines, Europe’s lack of depth shows and it could hurt them at the World Cup of Hockey.
Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (51 points in 72 games) dominated in exhibition games, netting a hat trick against Sweden. Minnesota Wild forward Nino Niederreiter (43 points in 82 games) and Kings forward Marian Gaborik (22 points in 54 games) were his most common wings during exhibition play.
Europe’s fourth line center will likely be Flyers center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (14 points in 77 games). His wings will likely be Arizona Coyotes wing Tobias Rieder (37 points in 82 games) and Vancouver Canucks forward Jannik Hansen (38 points in 67 games). Switching around in the lineup will be Red Wings forward Thomas Vanek.
Defense
Europe’s defense at the World Cup of Hockey will be led by Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (61 points in 81 games). He has finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting in each of his past two seasons. Josi will play on the right side of Europe’s top pairing. Longtime Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (28 points in 80 games) will be on the left side. Chara is a bit of a liability due to his lack of speed, but he’s still a quality defenseman.
Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera (30 points in 81 games) is a solid puck mover, but he is a slightly above average defenseman at best. Sekera will play on the left side of Europe’s second pairing with Flyers defenseman Mark Streit (23 points in 62 games) playing on the right side. Streit is 38 and Sekera is 30, so this is a bit of an old pairing.
Free agent defenseman Christian Ehrhoff (12 points in 48 games) and Canucks defenseman Luca Sbisa (eight points in 41 games) will likely make up Europe’s third defensive pairing. Dennis Seidenberg, another free agent, will serve as the team’s extra defenseman.
Goaltending
Europe’s goaltending features two New York Islanders goaltenders who could be playing for a starting job. Jaroslav Halak is coming off an injury, but has been very solid in the past. He will likely be Europe’s starter, though teammate Thomas Greiss will definitely get some as well. Greiss did very well last season after Halak got injured. He helped lead the Islanders to the second round of the playoffs.
Washington Capitals goaltender Philip Grubauer will serve as the team’s third-string goaltender. He is the backup goalie to Braden Holtby and is one of the two German goaltenders in the NHL (Greiss being the other one).
Overall Outlook
Europe’s defense will likely be their downfall at the World Cup of Hockey. Their goaltending tandem is better than you think. With a strong defense, they could have a chance to win the World Cup. But that isn’t the case. Europe’s slow defense was exploited by North America and other teams will likely take note.
They are in the same group as the United States, Czech Republic, and Canada. On Saturday Sept. 17, they will play the United States at 3:30 PM EST. They will play the Czech Republic on Monday Sept. 19 at 3:00 and Canada on Wednesday at 8:00 PM.