The World Cup of Hockey rosters begin to take shape today, as the eight teams in the tournament — set to take place this fall — will announce the first 16 players on their rosters over the course of the day.
And the first Flyers player named to a team will likely come as no surprise: Jakub Voracek, who was named to the Czech Republic roster this morning. The other two on the Czech team are less obvious, but still deserving: goalie Michal Neuvirth and defenseman Radko Gudas.
G Petr Mrazek, Detroit Red Wings
G Michal Neuvirth, Philadelphia Flyers
G Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets
D Radko Gudas, Philadelphia Flyers
D Michal Kempny, Avangard Omsk (KHL)
D Roman Polak, San Jose Sharks
D Andrej Sustr, Tampa Bay Lightning
F Michael Frolik, Calgary Flames
F Martin Hanzal, Arizona Coyotes
F Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
F David Krejci, Boston Bruins
F Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning
F David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
F Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens
F Vladimir Sobotka, Avangard Omsk (KHL)
F Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers
Voracek’s placement on the Czech Republic team is thoroughly expected. Not only is he first in the NHL in scoring among Czech players over the last five years — by a not-so-small margin, at that — but he’s represented the country in international play several times over the past decade, from U18 and U20 World Junior Championships to the IIHF World Championships. He was even the Czech team’s captain in last spring’s World Championships.
Voracek, of course, has missed the last two Flyers games and is expected to miss roughly two weeks with a lower-body (likely a foot) injury. So at least he has some good news to cheer him up today.
Gudas has represented his country multiple times, including as an assistant captain at the 2010 World Juniors. He last represented the Czechs at the 2014 Olympics. Neuvirth has played just 15 games in a Czech sweater, the last coming in 2008 as a member of the Czech World Junior team.
One surprising omission from the team: Jaromir Jagr. The rosters will be finalized, up to 23 players, in June.
Still to be announced are the rosters for Sweden, Europe, Canada, USA, and the North America under-23 team. We’ll find out later today if Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier, Shayne Gostisbehere, or maybe even other Flyers will be joining (and squaring off against) Voracek, Gudas and Neuvirth.
