Thornton, Marchand headline Canada’s final World Cup roster additions

Team Canada filled out its World Cup roster Friday, announcing the additions of San Jose Sharks forward Joe Thornton, Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, and five others to their final 23-man roster.

Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux and Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene round out the forwards, while Alex Pietrangelo, Jake Muzzin, and Norris Trophy finalist Brent Burns complete Canada's blue line.

Here is the full roster:

Goaltenders

Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks
Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens

Defenseman

Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks *
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks
Jake Muzzin, Los Angeles Kings *
Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues *
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, San Jose Sharks
Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

Forwards

Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche *
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers *

Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins *
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
John Tavares, New York Islanders
Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks *
Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks

* added to roster Friday

The World Cup takes place Sept. 17 to Oct. 1 in Toronto.

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Kessel omitted from Team USA’s World Cup roster

USA hockey announced the additions of St. Louis Blues forward David Backes and Toronto Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk to their final 23-man roster for the World Cup of Hockey.

Surprisingly, during a red-hot playoff run, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Phil Kessel was left off the list, even after making the last two USA Olympic teams.

Also added to the team are Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan and Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen.

Here's the full team:

Goaltenders

Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning
Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils

Defenseman

Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets
John Carlson, Washington Capitals
Erik Johnson, Colorado Avalanche *
Jack Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets *
Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers
Matt Niskanen, Washington Capitals *
Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild

Forwards

Justin Abdelkader, Detroit Red Wings
David Backes, St. Louis Blues *
Ryan Callahan, Tampa Bay Lightning *
Brandon Dubinsky, Columbus Blue Jackets *
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Ryan Kesler, Anaheim Ducks
T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals
Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens
Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild
Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks
Derek Stepan, New York Rangers
James van Riemsdyk, Toronto Maple Leafs *
Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets

* added to roster Friday

The World Cup takes place Sept. 17 to Oct. 1 in Toronto.

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Auston Matthews included on North America’s 23-man World Cup roster

Auston Matthews will have an appropriately unique introduction to the NHL brand.

The projected No. 1 overall draft pick has been tabbed as one of the final selections for North America's roster at the upcoming World Cup of Hockey, meaning his first strides at Air Canada Centre will not be made with a Maple Leafs (or Jets) logo on his chest.

Here's the complete Team North America roster, with Friday's seven added selections in bold:

Goaltenders

John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins

Defensemen

Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers *
Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
Ryan Murray, Columbus Blue Jackets
Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues *
Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs
Jacob Trouba, Winnipeg Jets *

Forwards

Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers
Jonathan Drouin, Tampa Bay Lightning *
Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Auston Matthews, ZSC Lions *
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
J.T. Miller, New York Rangers
Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers *
Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets
Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets *

* added to roster Friday

The World Cup is set to take place from Sept. 17 to Oct. 1, with the young guns opening versus Team Finland.

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Team Europe tabs Gaborik, filling out final 23-man World Cup roster

Miroslav Satan has assembled his melting pot.

Team Europe's 23-man roster for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey was finalized Friday, with Marian Gaborik leading a group of seven additions to the culturally diverse roster.

Here's a look at the squad:

Goaltenders

Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks (Denmark)
Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders (Slovakia)
Thomas Greiss, New York Islanders (Germany) *

Defenseman

Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins (Slovakia)
Christian Ehrhoff, Chicago Blackhawks (Germany) *
Roman Josi, Nashville Predators (Switzerland)
Luca Sbisa, Vancouver Canucks (Switzerland) *
Dennis Seidenberg, Boston Bruins (Germany)
Andrej Sekera, Edmonton Oilers (Slovakia)
Mark Streit, Philadelphia Flyers (Switzerland)

Forwards

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Philadelphia Flyers (France) *
Mikkel Boedker, Colorado Avalanche (Denmark)
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (Germany)
Marian Gaborik, Los Angeles Kings (Slovakia) *
Jannik Hansen, Vancouver Canucks (Denmark)
Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks (Slovakia)
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings (Slovenia)
Nino Niederreiter, Minnesota Wild (Switzerland) *
Frans Nielsen, New York Islanders (Denmark)
Tobias Rieder, Arizona Coyotes (Germany) *
Tomas Tatar, Detroit Red Wings (Slovakia)
Thomas Vanek, Minnesota Wild (Austria)
Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers (Norway)

* added to roster Friday

The World Cup is set to take place from Sept. 17 to Oct. 1 in Toronto, with Team Europe opening versus Team USA.

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​Not a great week for Nyquist – horse or hockey player

It was not the greatest week for Nyquist - horse or hockey player.

A few days after Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist was declared out of the Belmont Stakes due to a fever, Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist was not chosen by Sweden on Friday to play in the World Cup of Hockey.

Nyquist was named for the Detroit player by the colt's owner, J. Paul Reddam, a Red Wings fan who grew up across the border in Windsor, Ontario.

Nyquist finished third in the Preakness on May 21, ending any chance for a Triple Crown the year following American Pharoah's first sweep of the Derby, Preakness and Belmont since 1978.

He developed a fever and an elevated white blood cell count earlier this week, but was recovering well at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Trainer Doug O'Neill says he's hoping Nyquist can be shipped home to Santa Anita on June 5.

Nyquist, the hockey player, recently returned from playing for his country in the ice hockey world championships in Russia.

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Bishop injured ankle, was targeting return in Cup Final

Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Ben Bishop damaged multiple ligaments around his ankle in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, he revealed Friday afternoon.

He was, however, inching closer and closer to form, telling Erik Erlendsson that his targeted return was Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final - had the Lightning made it that far.

The Vezina Trophy nominee lauded the work of backup Andrei Vasilevskiy, who kept the Lightning in a series in which they were severely outshot when he entered in relief.

"You need two goalies to win," Bishop said, according to the team's official Twitter feed. "Right now we have that. I'm a full supporter of (Vasilevskiy) and he supports me. We complement each other well."

The Lightning crease will remain a talking point through the summer, and as the threat of expansion looms. Bishop's scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

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Stamkos hopes to return to Lightning, cites unfinished business

Steven Stamkos has a big decision to make.

The megastar captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning shockingly opted to play in Game 7 - a decision he's proud of - but to no avail, as the Pittsburgh Penguins earned a berth in the Stanley Cup Final.

Now that Tampa Bay's season is in the books, the focus shifts to Stamkos' future. The pending unrestricted free agent will obviously have plenty of suitors but it comes down to him, and if he still sees the Lightning as a good fit.

Stamkos has reached three Eastern Conference finals in his tenure in Tampa Bay, advancing further once.

The Lightning certainly want him to return, but the salary cap could restrict that if Stamkos is seeking a max contract, which isn't in Tampa Bay's books.

General manager Steve Yzerman has plenty on his plate. On top of the Stamkos saga, Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, and Vladislav Namestnikov are all restricted free agents this year and are due for a raise.

It's clear the Lightning have a tight-knit group, and even clearer they boast elite talent, but Stamkos will remain the talk of the town, and league, until a decision is made.

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Stamkos hopes to return to Lightning, cites unfinished business

Steven Stamkos has a big decision to make.

The megastar captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning shockingly opted to play in Game 7 - a decision he's proud of - but to no avail, as the Pittsburgh Penguins earned a berth in the Stanley Cup Final.

Now that Tampa Bay's season is in the books, the focus shifts to Stamkos' future. The pending unrestricted free agent will obviously have plenty of suitors but it comes down to him, and if he still sees the Lightning as a good fit.

Stamkos has reached three Eastern Conference finals in his tenure in Tampa Bay, advancing further once.

The Lightning certainly want him to return, but the salary cap could restrict that if Stamkos is seeking a max contract, which isn't in Tampa Bay's books.

General manager Steve Yzerman has plenty on his plate. On top of the Stamkos saga, Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, and Vladislav Namestnikov are all restricted free agents this year and are due for a raise.

It's clear the Lightning have a tight-knit group, and even clearer they boast elite talent, but Stamkos will remain the talk of the town, and league, until a decision is made.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.