* Claude Giroux wasn’t in the lineup for last night’s final exhibition match for Team Canada prior to the World Cup, but Ron Hextall says he’s fine: [CSN Philly]
* Claude almost ended up getting some friendly company on Team Canada: Tyler Seguin is reportedly out for the World Cup, and none other than Wayne Simmonds was reportedly among those being considered for his replacement… [Today’s Slapshot]
* …but Team Canada went with Ryan O’Reilly instead. Sad! [NHL]
* Here’s an (extremely lengthy) oral history of the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, won of course by the U. S. of A. Not nearly enough mention of John LeClair in here though. [ESPN]
* And here, 20 years later, is why Team USA will beat Team Canada this year, I guess? [ESPN]
* Anywho, the non-World Cup Flyers are just about all back in Voorhees well in advance of training camp: [Philly.com]
* While there, Hextall talked a bit about his goalies: [Courier-Post]
* With said training camp coming up, your near-yearly reminder of how “one-way” and “two-way” contracts actually work: [Highland Park Hockey]
* If there was any doubt left, “Knights” is almost certainly going to be in the Las Vegas team’s name in some way: [Puck Daddy]
* If you’re already looking forward to the 2017 draft, Craig Button released his first draft rankings of the season, led by Brandon Wheat Kings center Nolan Patrick: [TSN]
* Finally, for the nerds, a brief recap of last week’s hockey analytics conference in Rochester: [TSN]
