After a strong showing in the Preliminary round lat season, Canada lost in the quarter-finals vs Russia. Canada will be looking to have a different story this year. Team Canada has been placed in Group H (Helsinki) for the preliminary rounds this year. Others in the group include Belarus, USA, Finland, France, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, and Slovakia. This is a very strong group, arguably even stronger than the other group (on paper). Team Canada is facing Slovakia first tomorrow, (Friday, May 4th) at 4:15. The rest of their schedule for the preliminary rounds are:
Saturday, May 5th at 7:00 vs USA
Monday, May 7th at 4:15 vs France
Wednesday, May 9th at 8:15 vs Switzerland
Friday, May 11th at 8:15 vs Finland
Saturday, May 12th at 8:15 vs Kazakhstan
Tuesday, May 15th, at 12:15 vs Belarus
Team Canada has 8 players returning from last year. The most noticeable of the returnees are Jon Tavares who scored 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points in 7 games, Jeff Skinner who scored 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points in 7 games, and Jordan Eberle who scored 4 goals and got no assists in 7 games along with Dubnyk. Here is Team Canada's Roster this year along with the player's club:
Coach: Brent Sutter
Forwards:
Jamie Benn (Dallas Stars)
Alexandre Burrows (Vancouver Canucks)
Jordan Eberle (Edmonton Oilers)
Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks) 'C'
Evander Kane (Winnipeg Jets)
Andrew Ladd (Winnipeg Jets)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers)
Ryan O'Reilly (Colorado Avalanche)
Corey Perry (Anaheim Ducks)
Ted Purcell (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Patrick Sharp (Chicago Blackhawks)
Jeff Skinner (Carolina Hurricanes)
John Tavares (New York Islanders)
Defense:
Jay Bouwmeester (Calgary Flames)
Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks)
Dion Phaneuf (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Luke Schenn (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
Goaltenders:
Devan Dubnyk (Edmonton Oilers)
Cam Ward (Carolina Hurricanes)
My Prediction: Canada will finish 1st for their group in the preliminary round
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