Chicago Blackhawks forward Artem Anisimov will play for Russia at next month’s World Championship, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic. Powers adds that prospect Maxim Shalunov may join the team as well.
The tournament is from May 4-20 in Copenhagen and Herning, Denmark.
Anisimov is coming off his third straight 20-goal season. The 29-year-old has scored 20, 22 and 20 goals in each of his three seasons with the Blackhawks. He scored 31 points (20 goals, 31 assists) last season.
Anisimov played for Russia in the three Worlds tournaments prior to joining Chicago, including winning gold in 2014. He has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 37 career games at Worlds.
Shalunov, 25, scored 40 points (20 goals, 20 assists) in 46 games in his first season with CSKA in the KHL. The 2011 fourth-round pick has never played at Worlds.
With Anisimov heading to Worlds, the Hawks’ player representation grows to eight. The United States will be captained by Patrick Kane and joined by forward Alex DeBrincat and defenseman Connor Murphy and Jordan Oesterle. Assistant coach Don Granto will serve in the same role for the Americans. Forwards Dominik Kahun (Germany) and Tomas Jurco (Slovakia) and defenseman Erik Gustafsson (Sweden) will also play.