2016 World Cup of Hockey: Blackhawks' Artem Anisimov, Aretmi Panarin make Team Russia's initial roster
The Chicago forward duo will represent their home country.
Chicago Blackhawks forwards Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin have been named to Team Russia's 16-man roster for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia announced via press release Wednesday.
Anisimov, 27, has 18 goals and 34 points in 63 games this season for Chicago. Anisimov signed a five-year contract the day after he was acquired from Columbus in a multi-player deal in the offseason. The Yaroslavl, Russia native won gold at the 2014 World Championships and silver at the 2015 WC with Panarin.
Panarin, 24, leads all rookies with 22 goals, 35 assists and 57 points. The Korkino, Russia native won gold at the 2011 WC before playing in the 2015 WC. Chicago acquired Panarin in April on a free agent deal. Panarin previously played for SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL in 2013 and became an All-Star the following season, leading the team in scoring -- ahead of Ilya Kovalchuk -- with 26 goals and 62 points in 54 games. He added 20 points in 20 playoff games during SKA's Gagarin Cup championship run.
Roster
| Forwards |
| Artem Anisimov, Chicago Blackhawks |
| Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings |
| Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Nikolay Kulemin, New York Islanders |
| Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals |
| Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals |
| Artemi Panarin, Chicago Blackhawks |
| Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues |
| Defenseman |
| Dmitry Kulikov, Florida Panthers |
| Andrei Markov, Montreal Canadiens |
| Dmitry Orlov, Washington Capitals |
| Goaltenders |
| Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning |
Here's the sweater Team Russia will be wearing at the World Cup of Hockey. #WCH2016 https://t.co/t9ifQVeUEfhttps://t.co/M8vVn5aIy0
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 2, 2016
This year's World Cup of Hockey, which represents the event's return after a hiatus, is set for September and will be held in Toronto. The format is slightly modified from the past World Cup tournaments, with six national teams and two special "all-star teams" participating.
The eight teams that will compete this year are the United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Russia and the Czech Republic, plus Team Europe and Under-23 Team North America.
Here is when the different teams will announce their initital 16-man rosters:
Team Finland: 4 a.m. ET via press conference in Helsinki
Team Czech Republic: 11 a.m. ET via press conference in Prague
Team Sweden: 12:30 p.m. ET at the MSG Training Center
Team Europe: 4:30 p.m. ET on SportsNet’s Hockey Central
Team North America: 5:15 p.m. ET on SportsNet’s Hockey Central
Team Canada: 6:05 p.m. ET on SportsNet’s Hockey Central
Team USA: 6:45 p.m. ET on ESPN’s SportsCenter
