Mikko Rantanen will be playing for Finland . (Brent Lewis, The Denver Post)
As of Wednesday afternoon, the International Ice Hockey Federation’s web site listed seven members of the Avalanche organization on tentative national team rosters for the World Championships, which begin Friday in Russia and run through May 22. The most notable are center Matt Duchene and goalie Calvin Pickard of Canada.
The catch there is that official rosters — with a minimum of 15 skaters and two goalies and a maximum of 22 skaters and three goalies — are due to be submitted Thurday night, so things can change. Additions are allowed through the tournament.
Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov at this point isn’t listed on Russia’s roster, though he was expected to be and even gave an last week that is now posted on the IIHF web site. He admitted culpability in the Avalanche’s failure to make the playoffs, he supported coach Patrick Roy and he made some revealing comments at the end about the civil lawsuit filed against him by his former girlfriend — a case that ended with the jury awarding Varlamnov $126,000.
With the World Cup of Hockey coming up in the fall, upper-tier NHL players opting not to play in the far less prestigious World Championships — which annually take place during the prime part of the NHL playoffs — is understandable.
Here are the Avalanche properties listed on the rosters:
CANADA: Pickard, Duchene.
FINLAND: Right wing Mikko Rantanen.
UNITED STATES: Left wing J.T. Compher, signed from the University of Michigan
SWEDEN: Defenseman Anton Lindholm. (A 2014 draft choice, still plays for Skelleftea AIK in Sweden.)
SWITZERLAND: Goalie Reto Berra.
NORWAY: Winger Andreas Martinsen.
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or @TFrei
