The start of the IIHF world hockey championship in Riga, Latvia is less than two weeks away and the roster situation for most countries is becoming clearer.
Two countries in particular — the Czech Republic and Switzerland — announced a series of NHLers who have agreed to play for their national teams, but we’re still waiting on more than a handful of names and “maybes” for Teams Canada and USA.
Without further ado, let’s go through some of the roster news from this past week.
BELARUS - A few comings and goings from the Belarusian roster, but one addition of note is Vladislav Kodola. The centre had 32 points in 54 games for Severstal Cherepovets of the KHL. That ranks him among the top scorers from the KHL so far named to the roster. No word yet on whether Yegor Sharangovich, a standout rookie for the New Jersey Devils, will make it to Riga, though the official Belarusian hockey website reports it is still a possibility.
CANADA - On Monday, TSN reported that Hockey Canada has reached out to Connor Brown and Drake Batherson of the Ottawa Senators. According to the report, both players have expressed an interest. But the Ottawa Sun is also reporting that Batherson might be leaning towards saying no, though Nick Paul has confirmed. So far it seems the only names we can count on seeing in the Canadian uniform is Brown and Paul.
Brown is second ins coring on the Senators with 20 goals and 34 points in 54 games, while Paul has 20 points in 54 games.
TSN had previously reported that Thomas Chabot was interested in playing for Team Canada, but he was injured in a game earlier this week so it seems doubtful he is going to be able to play. Also not available: Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks.
CZECH REPUBLIC - Our first word of NHLers who have agreed to play for their national teams came from the Czech Republic, which earlier this week announced that Dominik Kubalik, David Kämpf, Filip Hronek, Filip Zadina, Jakub Vrána, Filip Chytil, Libor Hájek and Radim Simek would all be available and accept invitations.
That’s huge for the Czechs. Kubalik is in no sophomore slump, having scored 17 goals and 36 points in 54 games for Chicago Blackhawks, ranking him among the top Czech scorers in the NHL. Just ahead of him is Vrána, who has been a point-per-game player since being traded from the Washington Capitals to the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL trade deadline.
Hronek, the top-scoring Czech defenceman in the league with 26 points, is also an enormous addition for the Czech national team. It gives them a No. 1 defenceman and powerplay quarter back.
Chytil and Zadina might not be as high-octane as the other three, but give the Czechs more support scoring, while Kämpf, Simek and Hájek give the Czechs some good depth. Altogether, these additions give the Czechs nearly two good forward lines and defensive pairings.
Another potential addition is goaltender Josef Korenar, who has split his season between the Sharks and the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, after starting the year with HC Ocelari Trinec in the Czech Republic. I’m not sure where Korenar would fit in the line-up, as the Czechs already have a few good options in Roman Will, Petr Kvaca and Simon Hrubec.
FINLAND - A couple players from HIFK joined the squad for pre-tournament games, the most important addition being perhaps Florida Panthers prospect Anton Lundell, who is coming off a season of 25 points in 26 games in the Finnish Liiga.
GERMANY - The German national team has added a few more players to its roster from the DEL. Markus Eisenschmid and Matthias Plachta would likely be the most recognizable names to fans of the world championships as they have suited up for the German team in the past.
Eisenschmid played three seasons in the AHL with the St. John’s IceCaps and Laval Rocket and had 30 points in 38 games with Adler Mannheim this past season. He had seven points in eight games for Germany in the 2019 tournament. Plachta came over to North America for one AHL season, but has been a mainstay for the German national team with 36 world championship games already under his belt.
So far, the Germans are relying entirely on European (and primarily DEL) talent. I’ll be interested to see if Red Wings prospect Moritz Seider will be added to the roster. Apparently, Ottawa Senators rookie Tim Stützle is unlikely to play for Germany, and we know that Thomas Greiss of the Red Wings will not be invited due to controversial comments he has made on social media.
NORWAY - A few movements involving the Norwegian roster, but for North Americans the most interesting confirmation is that Mathias Emilio Pettersen has joined the squad for its practice games in Copenhagen, Denmark. Pettersen is a Calgary Flames prospect. The centreman had 14 points in 29 games with the Stockton Heat of the AHL.
RUSSIA - Our first word of an NHLer committing to play for the Russians comes from Nikolai Knyzhov, who says he will play for the Big Red Machine. While he hasn’t been a top scoring defenceman for the Sharks (he has 10 points in 55 games), he has played the entire season with the team and will be a welcome addition to the squad.
SWEDEN - One player the Swedes can’t count on is Erik Karlsson, who says he will not be playing for the national team despite the elimination of the Sharks from the playoffs.
SWITZERLAND - Earlier in the week, with teams eliminated from European league playoffs, the Swiss national team was bolstered by a few more players. Of note were the additions of Sven Andrighetto and Mirco Müller.
Andrighetto, who has played 216 NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche, is coming off a stellar return to Switzerland with 55 points in 52 games for the ZSC Lions.
Müller has played 185 NHL games with the Sharks and Devils, most recently playing 50 games and scoring seven points with New Jersey in the 2019-20 season. He had seven points in 13 games with the SHL’s Leksands IF.
Not playing: Denis Malgin (not released by the Toronto Maple Leafs), Dean Kukan (injury) and Pius Suter (contract uncertainty).
But the Sharks’ Timo Meier and both Nico Hischier and Jonas Siegenthaler of the Devils will be playing for Switzerland, as will Philipp Kurashev of the Chicago Blackhawks. That’s big for the Swiss. They have lots of quality players in the National League, but having some high-end NHL talent (Meier has 31 points in 53 games, while Hischier has 10 in 20 games) is really what puts them over the top and gives them the chance to score upsets against the Big Six.
They’ll be joined by a few more familiar names like Leonardo Genoni in goal, former Canadiens defenceman Raphael Diaz and potential future NHLer Grégory Hofmann, among others. The team looks close to completion and appears quite competitive.
UNITED STATES - Kevin Labanc of the Sharks will apparently be on the roster. It isn’t official, according to the Ottawa Sun, but Josh Norris is apparently ready and willing to play for Team USA — if he gets an invitation. Norris has had a great rookie season with the Senators (33 points in 54 games). Brady Tkachuk, however, has also received an invitation but appears to be leaning towards not accepting. Too bad.