Before the Montreal Canadiens season ended, we already knew that Sven Andrighetto was heading to represent Switzerland at the World Championships. As the locker room clearout day went on today, some more players from the team were confirmed as heading to Russia.
#canadiens Sven Andrighetto (Suisse) et Lars Eller (Danemark) seront au championnat du monde. #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) April 11, 2016
Lars Eller is certainly not a surprise, as he is easily one of the better players to come out of Denmark. He’ll likely be a key player for them at the tournament.
#canadiens Tomas Plekanec to play at the World Championship for Czech Republic.
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) April 11, 2016
Considering that he has been his country’s captain in the past, it is equally unsurprising to see Tomas Plekanec added to that team.
#canadiens Brendan Gallagher will play for Canada at the world championship. #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) April 11, 2016
Brendan Gallagher was a question mark prior to the announcement, as the knee injury he sustained earlier in the year was thought to be a lingering issue that might keep him out.
#canadiens Mike Condon will play for Team USA at the world Championship. #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) April 11, 2016
Good for Mike Condon, as he had a tough rookie season, but the American team brass obviously took note of his solid play.
Alexei Emelin is also among the Habs players that are heading to Russia this summer.
Alexei Emelin représentera la Russie au Championnat du monde. / Alexei Emelin will represent Russia at the World Championship.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 11, 2016
Not everyone could be added to their national teams, however. Alex Galchenyuk, dealing with a broken finger, will not be playing for team USA. Also bowing out is Andrei Markov for Russia, which is probably due to the fact that he needs some rest after being relied upon very heavily in the wake of this season’s injuries.
Max Pacioretty will also not be playing for team USA, although he should be a part of their roster for the World Cup in September. There may be no more Habs hockey, but there will still be opportunities to see some of the players in action.
