Past and present CHL talent hits the ice at IIHF World Hockey Championship in Denmark
The Canadian Hockey League is well represented at the 2018 IIHF World Hockey Championship getting underway in Copenhagen and Herning, Denmark this week.
A total of 100 past and present CHL players including 37 from the Ontario Hockey League, 35 from the Western Hockey League and 28 from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League are competing in the tournament, with at least one CHL graduate included on the rosters of each of the 16 countries competing.
The list includes a total of 19 CHL grads representing Canada as they look to return to the top of the podium after settling for silver last year in Cologne, Germany and Paris, France. Canada has won a total of 26 gold medals at the international competition with back-to-back triumphs coming in 2015 and 2016.
A total of three players who competed in the CHL this past season are included on tournament rosters including Canadian goaltender Michael DiPietro (Windsor Spitfires), Belarus forward Maksim Sushko (Owen Sound Attack) and Latvian blueliner Kristians Rubins (Medicine Hat Tigers).
The list also includes eight players that competed in the Canadian Hockey League during the 2016-17 season including Canadian talent in Thomas Chabot (Saint John Sea Dogs), Mathew Barzal (Seattle Thunderbirds), Czech defenceman Filip Hronek (Saginaw Spirit), German forward Manuel Wiederer (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies), the Latvian trio of Rodrigo Abols (Acadie-Bathurst Titan), Rudolfs Balcers (Kamloops Blazers) and Rihards Bukarts (Portland Winterhawks) as well as 2017 OHL Player of the Year Alex DeBrincat (Erie Otters) of the United States.
Canada leads the way with 19 CHL graduates on the roster followed by the Czech Republic with 14, Germany with 12 and Slovakia with 11.
CHL GRADUATES COMPETING AT IIHF WORLD HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP:
** played in the CHL during the 2017-18 season
* played in the CHL during the 2016-17 season
CANADA (19):
Goaltenders:
Michael DiPietro (Windsor Spitfires)**
Darcy Kuemper (Arizona Coyotes/Red Deer Rebels)
Defencemen:
Thomas Chabot (Ottawa Senators/Saint John Sea Dogs)*
Joel Edmundson (St. Louis Blues/Kamloops Blazers)
Aaron Ekblad (Florida Panthers/Barrie Colts)
Ryan Murray (Columbus Blue Jackets/Everett Silvertips)
Darnell Nurse (Edmonton Oilers/Soo Greyhounds)
Ryan Pulock (NY Islanders/Brandon Wheat Kings)
Forwards:
Josh Bailey (NY Islanders/Windsor Spitfires)
Mathew Barzal (NY Islanders/Seattle Thunderbirds)*
Anthony Beauvillier (NY Islanders/Shawinigan Cataractes)
Pierre-Luc Dubois (Columbus Blue Jackets/Blainville-Boisbriand Armada)
Jordan Eberle (NY Islanders/Regina Pats)
Bo Horvat (Vancouver Canucks/London Knights)
Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers/Erie Otters)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers/Red Deer Rebels)
Ryan O’Reilly (Buffalo Sabres/Erie Otters)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Ottawa Senators/Chicoutimi Sagueneens)
Brayden Schenn (St. Louis Blues/Brandon Wheat Kings)
—
AUSTRIA (4):
Defencemen:
Steven Strong (Klagenfurter AC/Saginaw Spirit)
Stefan Ulmer (HC Lugano/Spokane Chiefs)
Layne Viveiros (EC Salzburg/Portland Winterhawks)
Forwards:
Dominic Zwerger (HC Ambri-Piotta/Everett Silvertips)
—
BELARUS (8):
Defencemen:
Stepan Falkovsky (Ontario Reign/Ottawa 67’s)
Forwards:
Artem Demkov (Skakhter Soligorsk/Acadie-Bathurst Titan)
Sergei Drozd (Dinamo Mynsk/Tri-City Americans)
Artur Gavrus (Dinamo-Molodechno/Owen Sound Attack)
Charles Linglet (Dinamo Minsk/Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
Alexander Materukhin (Skakhter Soligorsk/Acadie-Bathurst Titan)
Geoff Platt (CSKA Moscow/Erie Otters)
Maksim Sushko (Owen Sound Attack)**
—
CZECH REPUBLIC (14):
Defencemen:
Radko Gudas (Philadelphia Flyers/Everett Silvertips)
Filip Hronek (Grand Rapids Griffins/Saginaw Spirit)*
Michal Jordan (Amur Khabarovsk/Plymouth Whalers)
David Musil (HC Ocelari Trinec/Edmonton Oil Kings)
Adam Polasek (HK Sochi/PEI Rocket)
Filip Pyrochta (Bili Tygri Liberec/Val-d’Or Foreurs)
Forwards:
Radek Faksa (Dallas Stars/Sudbury Wolves)
Roman Horak (Vityaz Podolsk/Chilliwack Bruins)
Tomas Hyka (Chicago Wolves/Gatineau Olympiques)
Dmitrij Jaskin (St. Louis Blues/Moncton Wildcats)
Robert Kousal (HC Davos/Oshawa Generals)
Dominik Kubalik (HC Ambri-Piotta/Kitchener Rangers)
Andrej Nestrasil (Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk/PEI Rocket)
Michal Repik (HC Sparta Praha/Vancouver Giants)
—
DENMARK (4):
Goaltenders:
Sebastian Dahm (Iserlohn Roosters/Sudbury Wolves)
Forwards:
Oliver Bjorkstrand (Columbus Blue Jackets/Portland Winterhawks)
Nicklas Jensen (Jokerit Helsinki/Oshawa Generals)
Morten Madsen (Karlskrona HK/Victoriaville Tigres)
—
FINLAND (3):
Goaltenders:
Eero Kilpelainen (Orebro HK/Peterborough Petes)
Defencemen:
Julius Honka (Dallas Stars/Swift Current Broncos)
Tommi Kivisto (Jokerit Helsinki/Red Deer Rebels)
—
FRANCE (1):
Defencemen:
Antonin Manavian (Fehervar AV19/Gatineau Olympiques)
—
GERMANY (12):
Goaltenders:
Mathias Niederberger (Düsseldorfer EG/Barrie Colts)
Timo Pielmeier (ERC Ingolstadt/Shawinigan Cataractes)
Defencemen:
Bjorn Krupp (Grizzlys Wolfsburg/Belleville Bulls)
Yannic Seidenberg (EHC München/Medicine Hat Tigers)
Forwards:
Leon Draistail (Edmonton Oilers/Kelowna Rockets)
Markus Eisenschmid (Laval Rocket/Medicine Hat Tigers)
Mirko Hofflin (Schwenninger Wild Wings/Acadie-Bathurst Titan)
Dominik Kahun (EHC Munchen/Sudbury Wolves)
Nico Krammer (Kolner Haie/Acadie-Bathurst Titan)
Marcel Noebels (Eisbaren Berlin/Portland Winterhawks)
Sebastian Uvira (Kolner Haie/Plymouth Whalers)
Manuel Wiederer (San Jose Barracuda/Rouyn-Noranda Huskies)*
—
LATVIA (7):
Defencemen:
Kristians Rubins (Medicine Hat Tigers)**
Forwards:
Rodrigo Abols (BIK Karlskoga/Acadie-Bathurst Titan)*
Rudolfs Balcers (San Jose Barracuda/Kamloops Blazers)*
Rihards Bukarts (Eisbaren Berlin/Portland Winterhawks)*
Andris Dzerins (HK Hradec Kralove/Kingston Frontenacs)
Nikita Jevpalovs (Dinamo Riga/Blainville-Boisbriand Armada)
Martins Karsums (Dynamo Moscow/Moncton Wildcats)
—
NORWAY (1):
Forwards:
Mathis Olimb (Linkoping HC/Sarnia Sting)
—
RUSSIA (1):
Forwards:
Mikhail Grigorenko (CSKA Moscow/Quebec Remparts)
—
SLOVAKIA (11):
Defencemen:
Michal Cajkovsky (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg/Ottawa 67’s)
Mario Grman (Pirati Chomutiv/Kootenay Ice)
Adam Janosik (Bili Tygri Liberec/Gatineau Olympiques)
Andrej Sekera (Edmonton Oilers/Owen Sound Attack)
Forwards:
David Buc (HK Poprad/Rouyn-Noranda Huskies)
Lukas Cingel (HK Hradec Kralove/Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
Tomas Jurco (Chicago Blackhawks/Saint John Sea Dogs)
Andrej Kudrna (HC Sparta Praha/Red Deer Rebels)
Tomas Marcinko (HC Ocelari Trinec/Barrie Colts)
Juraj Mikus (HC Litvinov/Chicoutimi Sagueneens)
Ladislav Nagy (HC Kosice/Halifax Mooseheads)
—
SOUTH KOREA (4):
Defencemen:
Alex Plante (Anyang Halla/Calgary Hitmen)
Eric Regan (Anyang Halla/Oshawa Generals)
Bryan Young (Daemyung Killer Whales/Peterborough Petes)
Forwards:
Michael Swift (Gangwon High1/Niagara IceDogs)
—
SWEDEN (2):
Forwards:
Mikael Backlund (Calgary Flames/Kelowna Rockets)
Rickard Rakell (Anaheim Ducks/Plymouth Whalers)
—
SWITZERLAND (5):
Defencemen:
Michael Fora (HC Ambri-Piotta/Kamloops Blazers)
Mirco Muller (New Jersey Devils/Everett Silvertips)
Dave Sutter (ZSC Lions/Seattle Thunderbirds)
Forwards:
Sven Andrighetto (Colorado Avalanche/Rouyn-Noranda Huskies)
Nino Niederreiter (Minnesota Wild/Portland Winterhawks)
—
UNITED STATES (5):
Defencemen:
Connor Murphy (Chicago Blackhawks/Sarnia Sting)
Forwards:
Alex DeBrincat (Chicago Blackhawks/Erie Otters)*
Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks/London Knights)
Sonny Milano (Columbus Blue Jackets/Plymouth Whalers)
Derek Ryan (Carolina Hurricanes/Spokane Chiefs)
For full coverage of the 2018 IIHF World Hockey Championship visit iihf.com.