At least six members of the Avalanche have more hockey to play this spring — in the May 5-21 World Championships in Paris and Cologne, Germany.
Among the early Avalanche representatives in the core-roster selections for the various national teams, Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie and Calvin Pickard will play for Canada; J.T. Compher for the United States; and Mikko Rantanen for Finland.
Sixteen teams will compete in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s annual tournament and more Avalanche players are expected to be on the core rosters as additional announcements are made. The early selections generally come from NHL teams missing the playoffs or European teams. Players from first-round NHL playoff losers also can be added later.
In opening games on May 5, Canada faces the Czech Republlc and Finland meets Belarus in Paris, and the U.S. plays Germany in Cologne. The top four teams from each of the eight team groups advance to the cross-seeded quarterfinals on May 18 at both sites. In Cologne, the semifinals are May 20, and the bronze- and gold-medal games are May 21.
GROUP A: Russia, United States, Sweden, Slovakia, Germany, Latvia, Denmark, Italy.
GROUP B: Canada, Finland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belarus, Norway, France, Slovenia.
For the Avalanche players, this will be Duchene’s sixth World Championships appearance, MacKinnon’s third, and the second for Barrie, Compher, Pickard and Rantanen.
