Every team involved in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey had to announce the first 16 players of their roster, including two goaltenders, on Mar. 2. Here’s the first 16 players of the Team Canada World Cup roster.
Any Team Canada roster announcement for a best-on-best tournament is a controversial affair. With the kind of depth that Team Canada boasts, there are always notable omissions and the 2016 Team Canada World Cup roster is no exception.
Roster
Goalies
Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks
Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
Defensemen
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, San Jose Sharks
Shea Weber, Nashville Predators
Forwards
Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
John Tavares, New York Islanders
Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks
Notable Snub
Omissions? The list is huge and will garner more debate than any other roster, as it should. There’s no nation as deep with talent as Canada. With only 16 players named now, there were undoubtedly going to be some big names missing.
Among the ones that should create the most discussion are P.K. Subban, Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Rick Nash, Matt Duchene, Corey Perry, Taylor Hall, Claude Giroux, Alex Pietrangelo…
Notable Inclusion
It’s a little surprising that Canada went with three goaltenders in this first announcement, solidifying their entire goaltending group. The inclusion of Crawford as the third name isn’t an exceptional statement in itself, but that management was confident enough in him to announce his inclusion now is a statement.
The only other person here who is a surprise is Vlasic. He’s frequently under-valued as a great defender in the league, so to see Hockey Canada rank him among their four best defenders is a statement of faith. On the other hand, he was paired with Doughty in the Sochi Olympics and they were a dominant presence. With his talent and his recent history on the international stage, maybe his inclusion isn’t all that surprising.
Only three players are in this announcement who weren’t a part of that gold medal-winning Sochi roster. They’re Hotlby, Crawford and Seguin.
Team Weakness
There really aren’t any. It’s not the best defensive group in the tournament, but it’s certainly not weak. The forwards and goaltending are as good as any other team. They’re the team to beat.
Team Strength
That forward group. It’s the bulk of the league’s superstars with Crosby, Stamkos, Tavares, Getzlaf, Seguin, Benn and Toews. It’s a phenomenal group.
More World Cup Roster Announcements:
Team Czech Republic World Cup Roster Announcement
Team Europe World Cup Roster Announcement
Team Finland World Cup Roster Announcement
Team North America World Cup Roster Announcement
Team Russia World Cup Roster Announcement
Team Sweden World Cup Roster Announcement
Team USA World Cup Roster Announcement