France before the World Championship: a quartet of players with extra-league experience will come to Ostrava, who will be the main star of the team?

The nomination list for the world championship, which includes twenty-five names, was also revealed by the Gallic cockerel country. It also includes a quartet of players with experience in the Czech top competition. The star of the team will be Pierre-Édouard Bellemare.

Da Costa from the KHL is also going

The final selection of coach Phillippe Bozon also includes Stéphane Da Costa, whose presence has caused some controversy. The experienced thirty-four year old Da Costa returns to the national team after two years and should be one of its driving forces. Da Costa played 72 games this season, scoring 24 goals and adding 40 assists.

Seattle forward Pierre-Édouard Bellemare will clearly be the next standout face. Despite his advanced age, he is still playing NHL hockey with the Seattle Kraken, and even at thirty-nine years old, he still has an asset to the club. This year he managed to play in forty games, during which he recorded a 4+3 record.

On the other hand, another twenty-four-year-old Alexandre Texier from the Columbus Blue Jackets is missing, which is a big loss for France. The more familiar faces, such as Jules Boscq, Lucien Onno, Justin Addamo, Dylan Fabre, Peter Valier, Kévin Spinozzi and Guillaume Leclerc, are also absent.

Room to show for new players

Due to the participation in the AHL playoffs, France will not be supported by Pierrick Dubé, the 13th Frenchman in history to play in the famous NHL (three games for Washington). New players will get a chance to show their skills. Four players will take part in the first ever World Championship. One of them is twenty-five year old defenseman Enzo Cantagallo, who plays in the French top competition for Rouen, who became the champions this year.

In the final, they beat Bordeaux, whose forward Baptiste Bruche will also make his debut at a major tournament in Ostrava this year. Together with them, the pair of forwards Aurélien Dair and Tomas Simonsen will probably get their first start. Yohann Auvitu, who missed last year’s tournament due to his engagement in Russia, is also returning to the national team.

Four players with experience from the Czech Extraliga

Bozon is also taking a quartet of players who have experience in the Czech top competition. Jordann Perret is currently based in Hradec Kralove, while Valentin Claireaux and Yohann Auvitu are based in Vítkovice and can take advantage of their familiarity with the local environment. The fourth member of the group is Sacha Treille, who previously wore the jersey of Sparta and Pardubice.

France played eight games in the preparation and presented uneven performances. It managed to lose to Italy, for example, which is not in the elite group of the World Cup this year. However, it also beat a strong Switzerland and won one match against Germany.

In Ostrava, France will be looking to advance from the group of eight. They will open the tournament on Saturday 11 May with a clash against Kazakhstan. They will then face Latvia, Poland, USA, Slovakia, Sweden and Germany.

Source: L´Equipe, Équipes de France Hockey, X