World Cup Hockey: Team North America Could Disappoint

World Cup Hockey is creating plenty of buzz, but the main focus continues to be on Team North America and their youthful squad of potential NHL superstars.

World Cup Hockey rounds out their pre-tournament games this week, and the fan-favorite Team North America went 2-1, beating Team Europe twice before losing to the Czech Republic two days ago.

They are currently ranked second behind Canada in betting odds to win the tournament, and plenty of fans are certain this team is going to wreak havoc once World Cup Hockey round robin play gets underway.

Not so fast.

 The Competition

Russia

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Russia is easily the most powerful up front but has plenty of questions on the defensive end. However, unlike previous years, the Russians have some reliable goaltenders in Sergei Bobrovsky, Semyon Varlamov and Andrei Vasilevskiy, which should help them defensively.

The Russians also have a few emerging defensemen in Alexey Marchenko, Nikita Nesterov and Nikita Zaitsev who could surprise during World Cup Hockey this year. With that said, the Russians could have enough firepower, and underrated defensive presences, to outperform Team North America.

Finland

Finland has been improving on the international stage for the past few seasons and has absolutely dominated the World Junior Championships.

They may not have the most elite forwards, but their goaltending duo of Tuukka Rask and Pekka Rinne is certainly one of the world’s best.

Their young defensemen like Sami Vatanen, Olli Maatta, and Rasmus Ristolainen are proven studs on the blue line, and will certainly help the Finns’ chances of moving on. If they can stay stingy in the defensive zone and come away with a couple of goals, the Finns could very well upset Team North America.

Sweden

Last but certainly not least; Sweden is on their last legs with Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and are entering this tournament with plenty to prove.

With newcomers Filip Forsberg and Gabriel Landeskog added to the mix, Sweden has a few bright spots heading into a new era.

Even without many high-end scorers; the Swedes boast one of the strongest defensive groups with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson and Hampus Lindholm. Hopefully Henrik Lundqvist can improve on his shaky pre-tournament play, notching a 77.95 save percentage and a 4.00 goals against average in two games. If he does, Sweden’s chances of stealing one of the two spots may certainly become a reality.

One common factor among all three international squads is the time spent playing together. Most of these players have played at the international level already, which helps generate long-term chemistry within the team.

Even though Team North America has shown plenty of promise, it will be a tough task to maintain the same level of play over all three games, especially when it is their first time ever playing together. In what will be a physically demanding tournament, playing back-to-back games on September 18 and 19 does not help their case either.

Team North America Roster

Forwards: Sean Couturier, Jonathan Drouin, Jack Eichel, Johnny Gaudreau, Dylan Larkin, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, J.T. Miller, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Brandon Saad, Mark Scheifele and Vincent Trocheck

Defensemen: Aaron Ekblad, Shayne Gostisbehere, Seth Jones, Ryan Murray, Colton Parayko, Morgan Rielly, Jacob Trouba

Goalies: John Gibson, Connor Hellebuyck, Matt Murray

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While Team North America boasts plenty of talent, the rest of Group B are no slouches. With only two teams of four advancing to the knockout round, they will certainly have their hands full with Russia, Finland, and Sweden during the group stage.

As mentioned, Team North America will have the grueling task of playing Finland on Sunday and Russia the following day, which could definitely play a part in their performance.

Russia and Sweden are also set to play back-to-back games, while Finland has a healthy one-day break between all three of their games. Whether this plays a role remains to be seen, but the international teams have a lot more experience to bring to the table. Their overall chemistry from years of playing together could be a deciding factor against Team North America.

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Playing on home ice will certainly help the young players on Team North America, but it will not be enough. All three nations bring plenty of talent, experience, and motivation to prove they are the best in the world. This squad of highly touted NHL youngsters will need to be at their absolute best to prove them wrong.

Only time will tell if they can make it happen.