TAMPERE. The World Cup tournament shared between Finland and Latvia will be played largely without the NHL’s star guard. Of course, the lions have Mikko Rantanen right at the top of the money league, but otherwise the world’s best players are almost completely absent from the games.
Especially the USA team, which does not have many names that are familiar even to NHL followers, has aroused wonder. Finland and the USA will clash on Friday at 16:20 in the opening match of the World Cup.
The USA’s number one stick is Buffalo’s forward Alex Tuchwho went to the Games so he could play his brother I’m reading with in the same team. Alex Tuch scored his record 36+43=79 points in the NHL regular season this season. He is the only man with more than 50 power points in the USA World Cup team.
According to the NHL statistics page, 35 Americans scored 50 points or more in the regular season this season. Only 7 of them are involved in the playoffs, so in principle, stars could have been released quickly for the World Cup. However, this did not happen in practice.
– Assembling a team has its own challenges. Players have different reasons why they can’t go to the games. However, we have a great group here that really wants to be involved, the GM of the USA World Cup team Chris Clark comment.
A year ago, there were 20 NHL players on the USA roster. Now there are only 13 of them.
When ‘s reporter lists a few names missing from the games to Clark on Thursday, such as Brady Tkachuk, By Quinn Hughes, Tage Thompson and Johnny Gaudreauthen the USA’s World Cup boss suffers a peculiar blunder.
– Yes, of course Brady Tkachuk cannot participate, because his games in the NHL continue, Clark states.
In reality, Brady Tkachuk’s season in Ottawa ended in the regular season, which the forward regretted after the last game.
– I am quite ready for the season to be over in April. There is such a belief in the dressing room that the season will not end this early in the future, Brady Tkachuk stated to the Ottavalais media.
He probably didn’t see the World Cup as a good option to continue the season, but wanted to focus on training.
Most likely by Chris Clark the blunder was caused by the MM boss confusing the Tkachuk brothers for a moment. Brady Tkachuk’s NHL season is wrapped up, but Matthew Tkachuk runs Florida toward the conference finals.
The USA player factory is working
Clark effusively praises the USA’s player production, which enables success in international tournaments.
– We have an excellent chance to win the gold medal, Clark points out the outlook for this tournament.
Based on the name list, Clark’s assessment sounds like an overshoot, but the talents and desire to show off the young players should not be dismissed.
From the youth squad, you can pick out a duo playing in the NCAA series at Boston University Lane Hutson–Cutter Gauthier. Among them, defenseman Hutson played the series with an average of more than a point per game and is Montreal’s second-round pick. Philadelphia, on the other hand, took forward Gauthier at number 5.
The World Cup is certainly a valuable experience for the USA’s talents. For example, Tuch and the captain Nick Bonino are able to show what winning hockey is like at their best.
In Tre Kronor, the NHL section of the second basket
Among the big countries in the Tampere group, Sweden also lacks the NHL’s top scorers. Tre Kronor’s brightest star is the forward from Detroit Lucas Raymond. He was Sweden’s 18th most effective NHL player in the regular season (17+28=45). Only three of those ahead of him still have a season in the playoffs.
Sweden’s most effective NHL player was from Vancouver by Elias Pettersson (39+63=102). At least based on the information that became public, his trip to the World Cup resulted in high insurance premiums.
Piloting Tre Kronor Sam Hallam emphasizes that the team is not looking for NHL stars.
– We focus on the players who are involved, Hallam emphasizes.
– It’s not that NHL players aren’t interested in coming to the World Cup. Sometimes it happens that after 82 matches the tank is empty. Someone wants to go to their family and someone is suffering from an injury. And there are things we don’t make public, Hallam explains.
Although the First Team is missing, Sweden has eight NHL players in Tampere. The team has shown its striking ability under Hallam’s command.
The timing of the World Cup is not a problem
Piloting lions Jukka Jalonen brought out on the eve of the tournament that Sweden has returned as a two-time world champion under Hallam Rikard Grönborgin to the level of the era game-wise.
Jalonen has also been able to respond to the NHL theme in recent days. Patrick Laine missed the home games, but on the other hand Mikko Rantanen joined the Lions. The group also includes Olli Määttä, Kaapo Kako, Joel Armia and Kasperi Kapanen.
Three-time world champion Jalonen understands that NHL players have their reasons for missing the World Cup. At the same time, however, he expresses his surprise as to why the tournament does not start.
– Sometimes, as a coach, you wonder if you can’t make it to the playoffs and you’re healthy, why aren’t you interested in the games. And I don’t mean only Finns, but anyone, but a hockey player who at some point in his career wants to succeed or win something. It’s your own choice, of course, but sometimes a bit special, Jalonen downloads.
None of the interviewees consider the timing of the World Cup tournament to be a problem. The games are played several weeks later than in previous years, but that does not explain the strong interest of NHL stars in participating.
– If the games were a week earlier, we would have fewer NHL players than now, Jalonen sums up.
The Ice Hockey World Cup match between Finland and USA on Friday at 16:20 in Tampere.