World Cup of Hockey Preview: Team Russia
Yesterday we began our previews of Group B in the upcoming World Cup of Hockey with Team Finland. Now, let’s move on to Team Russia.
- Group A previews: Team Canada, Team Czech Republic, Team Europe and Team USA.
Group B:
Team Finland
Team North America
Team Russia
Team Sweden
Team Russia will feature two Blackhawks forwards, 2016 Calder Trophy winner Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov. Russia’s roster will also include four non-NHL players from the KHL… one of which is “retired” (but still counting against the cap in Arizona) forward Pavel Datsyuk.
ROSTER
Forwards:
Artem Anisimov, Chicago Blackhawks
Artemi Panarin, Chicago Blackhawks
Evgeny Dadonov, SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL)
Pavel Datsyuk, SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL)
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Nikolay Kulemin, New York Islanders
Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Vadim Shipachyov, SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL)
Ivan Telegin, CSKA Moscow (KHL)
Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues
Defensemen:
Alexei Emelin, Montreal Canadiens
Dmitry Kulikov, Florida Panthers
Alexey Marchenko, Detroit Red Wings
Andrei Markov, Montreal Canadiens
Dmitry Orlov, Washington Capitals
Nikita Zaitsev, Toronto Maple Leafs
Goaltenders:
Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets
Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
All games played at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. All times below are EST.
Round-Robin Schedule:
Sunday, Sept. 18 – Team Sweden @ Team Russia, 3 PM, ESPN
Monday, Sept. 19 – Team Russia @ Team North America, 8 PM, ESPN2
Thursday, Sept. 22 – Team Finland @ Team Russia, 3 PM, ESPN
The top two teams from the round robin advance to the semifinals, which will be single elimination on Sept. 24-25. The final round is a best of three series with games being played between Sept. 27 and Oct. 1.
Although the other teams are great, team Russia has not only my favorite rookie, but another dynamic Chicago Blackhawk! I also think that team Canada is always amazing, but in the end, it’ll come down to Russia and the US teams… It’ll be a great start to our hockey season. Looking forward to it!
Russian D and goalies will have to play really well to be in the final-it will be Canada with the dark horse the Young Guns.
Team N America is going to be the best Team NA ever. Youth, speed and skill with a decent amount of balance. I think they are going to surprise. Biggest weakness will be goaltending. Looking forward to Tab’s take.
Pass me the Bread, Please.