More stars at the World Championship! Dubois will join Canada, Josi and Niederreiter will play for the Swiss. Who else?

The World Ice Hockey Championships in Prague and Ostrava are fast approaching, but many questions about the rosters of individual teams are still shrouded in fog. However, it is customary for a large number of NHL players to head to the centre of Europe. The latest information speaks of the arrival of a top defenseman for the Swiss or the top scorer of the 2022 championship.

Fans really have something to look forward to. We already know that the number of hockey players from the most prestigious league in the world will be somewhere close to a hundred. They will probably even surpass it. The teams with the most NHL players will of course be the USA and Canada. We will see at least twenty such hockey players in each team.

Sweden is also approaching a similar number. According to the latest available information, their NHL players will be joined by Pontus Holmberg from Toronto. Carl Grundstrom from Los Angeles has also reportedly accepted the invitation, but he has yet to receive final clearance from the Kings.

The Swedes will be one of the absolute top favorites in this regard, along with Canada and the United States. Canada’s roster is slowly coming to a close. After the official announcement, the Maple Leafs have kept three spots open. It has long been speculated that Sidney Crosby could also come to Prague, but this possibility is looking less and less realistic every day.

The first of these three vacancies was taken by forward Pierre-Luc Dubois. Last season in Los Angeles didn’t go as he expected, but he already has experience with the World Championship. In 2022 in Finland, he was the top scorer of the championship with seven goals. Canada lost to the home team Suomi in the final 3:4 in overtime.

Finland and Switzerland have so far fallen short

Among the teams that have not yet stocked up on hockey players from overseas is Switzerland. Hockey players from the land of the Helvetic Cross are one of the dark horses of the tournament every year. If anything has played into the hands of the Swiss in recent days, it’s the elimination of Nashville from the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. This allows them to welcome one of the NHL’s best defensemen, Roman Josi, to their roster.

At the same time, the Swiss confirmed another big name. Nino Niederreiter may not have played for the Predators this year, but he too ended up in the quest for the Holy Grail in the first round. He and his teammates fell short against Colorado in Winnipeg. Otherwise, the Swiss will have to make do with a large group of players from their home competition.

The Finns will be in a very similar position. Defenceman Olli Määttä (Detroit), forwards Mikael Granlund (San Jose), Jesse Puljujärvi and Valtteri Puustinen (both Pittsburgh) will come to Prague from the NHL and that’s it. However, the Finns have shown several times in the past that they are capable of getting by with players from their home competition. Once again, they will rely on a sophisticated hockey system that will give problems even to teams loaded with NHL stars.

Source: NHL, 2024 World Cup of Hockey