Four Buffalo Sabres to Play in World Cup of Hockey

Four players from the Buffalo Sabres roster will take part in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, set to begin on Sept. 17, at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. ESPN will provide network coverage and telecast.

It’s August, and while many out there are trying to determine how to spend the remaining weeks of summer, there are others, like me, who are ready for the cold and for the chance to get back to watching hockey again. Though the NHL regular season isn’t scheduled to begin until midway through the month of October, hockey fans will get a rare and unique treat this year to watch some of their favorite players hit the ice a little early.

For Buffalo Sabres fans, that mostly means watching Jack Eichel suit-up for the newly-formed Team North America that boasts an impressive roster comprised of some of the best up and coming NHL talent (aged 23 or younger). In addition, Robin Lehner will join Team Sweden as the third goalie behind Henrik Lundqvist and Jacob Markstrom; Rasmus Ristolainen will skate on defense for Team Finland and former Florida Panthers turned Buffalo Sabres defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will skate for Team Russia. It’ll be a chance for Buffalo to get an early look at the newest addition to Sabres back-end.

For those not overly familiar with the World Cup of Hockey, it’s primarily run by the NHL and the NHLPA, played on NHL-size rinks, under NHL rules and with NHL officials. The first World Cup of Hockey took place in 1996, where the USA defeated Canada to claim victory, and the next occurred eight years later in 2004, where Canada edged off Finland to bring home the title. Now, almost twelve years later, the third World Cup of Hockey will take place in Toronto from Sept. 17 – Oct. 1, prior to the start of the NHL pre-season.

Eight teams will face off in the tournament, which has historically represented the national teams of eight different countries – Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and USA – but this year, in response to the recent upsurge of young and talented players, the NHL modified the format to allow those players, as well as players from unrepresented countries, to play in the tournament. So, what are the changes?

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Germany and Slovakia will no longer have individual teams to represent their countries, but rather, will be added into another newly-formed Team Europe, with players representing eight countries – Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland – giving players like Anze Kopitar and Roman Josi a chance to take part in a major event, who otherwise would’ve missed out due to smaller representation of players from their countries. Former Buffalo Sabres player Miroslav Satan was appointed general manager of Team Europe, and though I would’ve liked to see him add another country to this list by selecting Latvian forward and current Sabre Zemgus Girgensons to the squad, it was a tough decision to make and, to be fair, Zemgus didn’t have the best of seasons.

But most fans, I think, will be paying attention to the young guns of Team North America, who wield a surprisingly powerful arsenal that has many analysts wondering if they can win the whole thing. The team includes five of the last six first overall picks in the NHL draft since 2011, including the most recent 2016 first overall pick in Auston Matthews. Selected by the host city, the Toronto fans will get an up-close and personal look at Matthews, who will likely be skating on that same sheet of ice for many years to come. If that’s not enough, there’s the added element of Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid playing together, not as opponents, but teammates, and how many times will we ever get the chance to see that happen again.

The eight teams are split into two groups (Group A & Group B), with all four players from the Buffalo Sabres falling into Group B. The preliminary round, Sept. 17 – Sept. 22, is a round-robin format, and the top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinal round on Sept. 24. The final round is a best-of-three matchup. ESPN will be covering the tournament and has released the network and telecast schedule, so if you’re interested in watching the WCH, here’s what you need to know:

Group A Group B

Canada Finland

Czech Republic Russia

USA Sweden

Team Europe Team North America

Buffalo Sabres Players:

Jack Eichel – Team North America

Robin Lehner – Team Sweden

Rasmus Ristolainen – Team Finland

Dmitry Kulikov – Team Russia

T.V Schedule:

September 17

3:30pm USA vs Europe ESPN2

8:00pm Czech Republic vs Canada ESPNEWS

September 18

3:00pm Sweden vs Russia ESPN

8:00pm North America vs Finland ESPN2

September 19

3:00pm Europe vs Czech Republic ESPN2

8:00pm Russia vs North America ESPN2

September 20

3:00pm Finland vs Sweden ESPN

8:00pm Canada vs USA ESPN

September 21

3:00pm North America vs Sweden ESPN

8:00pm Europe vs Canada ESPN2

September 22

3:00pm Finland vs Russia ESPN

8:00pm USA vs Czech Republic ESPN2

September 24

7:00pm Semifinal Game One ESPN2

September 25

1:00pm Semifinal Game Two ESPN

September 27

8:00pm Final Game One ESPN

September 29

8:00pm Final Game Two ESPN2

October 1

7:00pm Final Game Three (if necessary) ESPN2

(*All times listed in EST)

For more information, go to WCH2016.com

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