Projecting Team Europe's lines at the World Cup
Team Europe, the melting pot from non-hockey-mad nations on the other side of the pond, has more questions than answers in advance of the World Cup of Hockey's rebirth.
With chemistry between players from previous stints with club and country virtually non-existent, we attempt to piece together lines, pairings, and units for Ralph Krueger's assorted roster.
Forwards
With an abundance of right wingers, Team Europe's top three centers and lefties fall into place with dominant two-way center Anze Kopitar pairing with new rival Mikkel Boedker on the top line.
Marian Hossa will be a stabilizing force on the second line playing with two talented attacking players in Leon Draisaitl and Tomas Tatar, while Frans Nielsen centers two diminishing top-six players on the third unit.
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Mikkel Boedker | Anze Kopitar | Mats Zuccarello |
| Tomas Tatar | Leon Draisaitl | Marian Hossa |
| Thomas Vanek | Frans Nielsen | Marian Gaborik |
| Nino Niederreiter | Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | Jannik Hansen |
| Tobias Rieder |
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare plays down the middle on a checking line with goal-scoring capability on the wing in Nino Niederreiter and Jannik Hansen.
Defensemen
With a ratio that would cause Mike Babcock to break into cold sweats, Team Europe will carry seven left-shot defensemen and zero right-handers.
Roman Josi and Mark Streit form a solid puck-moving pair, while Boston Bruins teammates Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg will punch up in a shutdown role.
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Roman Josi | Mark Streit |
| Zdeno Chara | Dennis Seidenberg |
| Christian Ehrhoff | Andrej Sekera |
| Luca Sbisa |
It has to be considered anyone's crease in advance to puck drop, with three solid, yet unspectacular options.
Expect the open competition pre-tournament between Frederik Andersen, Jaroslav Halak, and Thomas Greiss to spill into the contest.
| G |
|---|
| Frederik Andersen |
| Jaroslav Halak |
| Thomas Greiss |
Team Europe shouldn't deviate far from their even-strength framework when on the man advantage. Europe's first line consists of five players who were among the league leaders in power-play time. And Nielsen joins a free-flowing and highly skilled four-man second unit anchored by Chara.
| Unit | LW | C | RW | LD | RD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikkel Boedker | Anze Kopitar | Mats Zuccarello | Roman Josi | Mark Streit |
| 2 | Tomas Tatar | Leon Draisaitl | Marian Hossa | Frans Nielsen | Zdeno Chara |
Europe has a consummate first unit, and a sound second pair of forwards, but will have to tax Josi and Chara while playing a man down as there is a dramatic fall in capability when it comes to their secondary defenders.
| Unit | F | F | LD | RD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anze Kopitar | Marian Hossa | Roman Josi | Zdeno Chara |
| 2 | Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | Jannik Hansen | Luca Sbisa | Dennis Seidenberg |
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