Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk will play for the United States at the 2017 World Championship, USA Hockey announced Wednesday. USA Today’s Kevin Allen first reported the news.
Van Riemsdyk will make his national team debut at Worlds, which runs from May 5 to 21 in Cologne, Germany and Paris, France.
The 25-year-old blue liner scored five goals and 16 points in 58 games for Chicago this past season. The blue liner is scheduled to play the final year of his two-year, one-way contract with a $825,000 salary cap hit next season. He’s the most likely candidate to be picked up by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
Van Riemsdyk isn’t the only Hawk slated to play in the tournament. Forwards Marcus Kruger (Sweden) and Artemi Panarin (Russia) will also compete, while eight of his Chicago teammates have turned down the opportunity to play: Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Jonathan Toews (Canada); Artem Anisimov (Russia); Marian Hossa and Richard Panik (Slovakia); Niklas Hjalmarsson (Sweden); and Patrick Kane (U.S.).
Group A games will be played in Cologne at Lanxess Arena (18,500 capacity) while Group B will be at AccorHotels Arena (15,000 capacity).
The Americans are Group A along with Russia, Sweden, Slovakia, Germany, Latvia, Denmark and Italy. The U.S., who has won bronze twice since 2013, opens the tournament against host Germany on May 5. Team USA hasn’t reached the gold-medal game since 1960 when it defeated Canada for its second world championship.