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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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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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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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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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.

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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If one thing was for certain when the NHL announced it would mobilize an international tournament on its own ice, it's that the league would at some point clash with the Russian Hockey Federation.

Well, here we are.

In response to an ESPN report Friday morning that suggested the NHL would work to block former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov from participating in the showcase event, Russian coach Oleg Znarok has fired back.

Znarok stated, as translated by Russian reporter Igor Eronko and retrieved by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman:

"Only we, I mean our coaching staff and Hockey Russia, can determine who's going to play and who's not. World Cup is an international tournament, it's not just (the NHL's). So I don't think there should be any questions regarding Voynov."

Voynov received an indefinite suspension from the NHL in October 2014 after he was arrested on domestic violence charges. He returned to Russia after serving a 90-day jail sentence, and played 23 games for SKA St. Petersburg this past season.

He was one of seven Russian players added to the World Cup final roster.

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