Nine Colorado Avalanche players are participating at the IIHF World Championships taking place in Germany and France from May 5-21.
It’s that time of year when the Colorado Avalanche as a team are done for the season, so we follow the Colorado Avalanche players. Quite often said players head off to Europe to represent their countries at IIHF Worlds.
This year, the Avalanche have nine players heading to the World Championships.
For Team Canada, there are four players going:
- Matt Duchene
- Nathan MacKinnon
- Tyson Barrie
- Calvin Pickard
Centers MacKinnon and, especially, Duchene are no strangers to representing Canada in international competitions. Duchene has won eight gold medals, including Olympic gold in 2014. MacKinnon has skated for Canada in seven international competitions, winning gold at the 2015 World Championships.
Defenseman Tyson Barrie has participated in three international competitions. He won silver at the 2011 World Junior Championships. He won gold with Duchene and MacKinnon in 2015.
Goalie Calvin Pickard played in last year’s World Championship, winning gold with Team Canada.
The Colorado Avalanche also have two players skating for Team Sweden, left wing Gabriel Landeskog and center Carl Soderberg.
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Like Duchene, Landeskog has represented his country numerous times. The Avalanche captain has participated in five international championships. He won gold with Sweden at the 2013 World Championships and silver at the Olympic Games in 2014.
Soderberg has participated in three international tournaments — the 2003 World Juniors Under-18, the 2005 World Junior Championships and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Right wing Mikko Rantanen, though just 20, is an old pro at representing Finland in international competitions. He’s done so six times, winning gold at the 2016 World Juinior Championship and silver at the 2016 World Championship. He’ll be skating for Team Finland again this year.
Rookie forward J.T. Compher will be skating for Team USA at this year’s tournament. He’s represented the U.S. five times internationally, winning gold at the 2012 Under-18 event and silver both at the 2012 Under-17 event and the 2013 Under-18. He scored a goal and two assists at last year’s World Championships, which garnered Team USA a bronze medal.
Prospect defenseman Andrei Mironov rounds out the group. He’s been named to the preliminary roster for Team Russia. (Read more about Mironov) The Russians haven’t settled on their 21-man roster just yet. However, Mironov has represented Russia in four international competitions, winning bronze at the 2013 and 2014 World Juniors and silver at the 2015 World Championships.
Information About the 2017 IIHF World Championship
The preliminary rounds of the 2017 IIHF World Championship tournament start May 5. The teams are playing at two different venues depending on their group designation. Group A is playing at LANXESS Arena in Cologne, Germany — this includes Sweden, Russia and USA. Group B, which includes Finland and Canada, is playing at AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France.
The preliminary rounds include 16 teams. The top-four ranked teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals will take the following format:
- 1A vs 4B
- 1B vs 4A
- 2A vs 3B
- 2B vs 3A
The quarterfinals begin May 18. The winner from each game advances to the semifinals, which start on May 20. The winning team from each semifinal game advance to the gold medal game, being played on May 21. The losing teams play for bronze, also on May 21. All semifinal and final games will be played at LANXESS Arena.
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Rankings are based on a three-point system. If a team wins by the end of regulation, they get three points. If the game is tied, both teams get one point. The winner from overtime or the shootout receives another point.