A year ago, the hockey world was anticipating the announcement of the Olympic rosters for the 2014 Sochi Games. We still don't know if Sochi was the swansong for NHL participation in the Olympics, but we do know the NHL and its players are hoping for a return of best-on-best hockey in the fall of 2016 in a revamped World Cup of Hockey.
Right now, we expect these six hockey nations will take part: Canada, the United States, Finland, Sweden, Russia and the Czech Republic. Plus two other composition teams will round out a field of eight.
For the national teams we know will be in Toronto, we went with a 25-man roster of three goalies, eight defensemen and 14 forwards, and tried to take into account the maturation of young players and the durability of older players.
We also included our Team Euro Leftovers Roster and the Young North American Guns roster (which makes a mockery of the entire tournament and is a kick in the shins to the Swiss and the Slovaks, who should have their own teams in this competition).
We included only those North American players who will be 25 or younger on our Team Sham, er, Team Young Guns roster.
Canada
The two-time defending Olympic gold medalists will again be heavy favorites playing at home, but it won't make the decision any easier for whoever takes over for executive director Steve Yzerman. Will Mike Babcock be behind the bench? Will it matter?
Thoughts: Canada boasts, what, 20 worthy centers, so the dilemma facing a selection group won't get any easier in the summer of 2016 than it was a year ago for the Sochi Games, when Canada essentially squeezed the life out of the competition by playing some of the best team defense seen anywhere, at any time. Goaltending remains an interesting position, although given the play of Carey Price, that discussion/concern became an absolute non-factor. Typical Canadian dilemma: the ability to ice two and maybe three medal-worthy teams.
United States
"Disappointing" doesn't really cover how the U.S. finished the Sochi tournament. After hitting the elimination round as the team to beat, the U.S. lost to Canada and Finland to finish out of the medals. Still, loads and loads of options for the red, white and blue come the fall of 2016.
Thoughts: We understand how difficult choosing the Sochi team was for the U.S. selection committee and things won't be any easier for whoever ends up heading up the group in 2016 (right now, it should be Ray Shero or Dean Lombardi). This will be an especially tough decision up front where Blake Wheeler, Alex Galchenyuk, Nick Bjugstad and Brandon Saad will be making a case to not just make the team, but to be the core of go-to guys. Will David Backes, T.J. Oshie and Ryan Kesler, who play such a physical game, be in the mix? If healthy, yes. But that's an important distinction. Same can be said of two-time Olympian Paul Stastny, whom we didn't have on this list. And what of Johnny Gaudreau, Brock Nelson and Nick Foligno, who have proven they'll be part of the discussion, too? The blue line won't be any easier to assemble with youngsters Seth Jones and Jacob Trouba knocking at the door and veterans Jack Johnson -- excluded from the Olympic team -- and Matt Niskanen still viable alternatives.
Sweden
The Swedes were silver medalists in Sochi and will be considered a pretournament favorite in Toronto in 2016. They are not as deep as Canada or the United States but are equally dangerous.
Thoughts: What's not to like about the defending silver medalists from Sochi, especially in goal and along the back end? Maybe the offensive depth isn't as explosive as Canada's or the U.S.', especially if the Sedin twins aren't at peak form, but the Swedes will still be able to play it any way you like in this tournament. One question: If Henrik Lundqvist's play declines, is there an obvious successor to the King's throne on the national level? The short answer is, not really.
Russia
Hard to think of the Russians without adding "underachieving" when it comes to the last two Olympic tournaments. Wonder if the potential collapse of the Kontinental Hockey League and a return of some players to North America will change the look of this lineup by the fall of 2016?
Thoughts: If the Russians have learned anything from their pratfalls at the Vancouver and Sochi Olympic Games, it's that trying to keep political peace by splitting the roster between Kontinental Hockey League players and NHL players is pure folly. Especially considering that the World Cup is played on NHL surfaces, the Russians would do well to maximize their NHL content, which is why we'd add only a handful of players from outside the NHL: Alexander Radulov, Viktor Tikhonov and Ilya Kovalchuk, all of whom have NHL experience. The blue line will be a problem, especially if Slava Voynov is convicted of domestic abuse, which would raise questions about whether he would be allowed to take part in the tournament.
Finland
The Finns, led by Hall of Fame-bound Teemu Selanne, were one of the feel-good stories of the Sochi Games, and you can bank on them being a handful no matter who ends up on their World Cup roster.
Thoughts: It will definitely be a changing of the guard for the Finns, who will be without Teemu Selanne, Kimmo Timonen and Sami Salo. The defense will be challenged but the goaltending will be as good as it gets in this tournament, and the Finns always play it tough in these best-on-best tournaments no matter who is wearing the Suomi jersey.
Czech Republic
The Czechs have taken a step back from the top of the international hockey ladder in recent years and this tournament will once again find them considered among the also-rans.
Thoughts: The first thing the Czechs have to do is get their coaching house in order after the chaos that marked the team's selection and lineup decisions in Sochi under Alois Hadamczik, who resigned after the tournament. The Czechs remain a team in transition internationally, with lots of good young talent up front but lots of question marks along the blue line. If what we've seen from Ondrej Pavelec this season is what we might expect at the World Cup, that will help level the playing field for the Czechs.
Team Leftovers (Euro)
We get the idea of trying to get as many NHL players into this tournament as possible, even if it flies in the face of logic and history. We have included European players whose countries are not among the chosen groups.
Thoughts: I still think it's an abomination that the NHL and NHLPA would sacrifice logic for increasing the number of NHL players who might take part in this tournament (did we mention that already?), but if that's going to be the case the leftovers from Europe will certainly represent an interesting group. Lots of experience on the back end, although durability is an issue. Up front, a nice blend of veteran experience and youthful skill should make for some interesting combinations. How about Peter Stastny as GM and maybe Ralph Krueger, who coached the Swiss in previous Olympic competitions, as head coach? One question: Whose anthem gets played in they win? How about "We Are The World"?
North American Young Guns
This is another idea destined to plunge the World Cup into the realm of parody or worse. But, oddly enough, no one asked us what we thought of this. For our purposes, this team is made up of U.S. and American players who will be 25 or younger at the time of the tournament. Just asking, but do these kids have to hold their training camp after the Canadian and U.S. teams are selected to find out who makes the big boy team or not?
Thoughts: This was actually a pretty good challenge. Left off Mathew Dumba, who could be ready to join the group by September 2016. Up front has lots of terrific players, starting with former Calder Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon and his former junior teammate Jonathan Drouin. Had Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin on the list, but took them off based on the NHL experience by other top young players. No wonder some teams don't like the idea of a group of fresh-faced kids kicking their butts in this tournament. Who sings the anthem if they win? Justin Bieber?