Vancouver Canucks sending at least three players to the World Championship
Western Family and the Vancouver Canucks have teamed up to create Bar Down Blast ā a limited-edition treat featuring vanilla ice cream swirled with blue ripple and caramel-filled mini chocolatey pucks.
The Vancouver Canucks will be well-represented at the upcoming IIHF World Championship.
Because the Canucks missed the playoffs, their players have the time to represent their countries at the international tournament.
Conor Garland and Drew O’Connor will be representing Team USA at the tournament. It’ll be Garland’s third time at the World Championship, and he was an assistant captain on the 2023 team.
This is O’Connor’s second time representing the Americans at the World Championship. He played alongside Garland on that 2023 team, scoring eight points in 10 games.
Finally, Filip Hronek will be playing for Team Czechia. Hronek wasn’t on the team last year, as he was competing in the playoffs for the Canucks when Czechia won gold at home. They’ll be looking for a repeat performance and the addition of the smooth-skating blueliner, who will be making his fifth appearance at the event.
The World Championship is being hosted in Denmark and Sweden this year, with Stockholm serving as the main city. The first games will be held on May 9, and the final will take place on May 25.
Rick Tocchet was offered a spot on Canada’s coaching staff but turned it down, citing the grind of this dramatic Canucks season as the reason.
“It’s a hell of an honour to represent Canada, I’m a Canada guy with hockey. It’s been a long year, I don’t know if I’m going to be the best version of me so I think it’s better I just sit on the sidelines. It’s a tough one,” he explained at his end-of-season interview.
More Canucks could be added to World Championship rosters over the coming days.
Canada hasn’t unveiled its full roster for the tournament yet, but Canucks Tyler Myers and Jake DeBrusk could be on the team.
Kevin Lankinen was also offered a spot on Team Finland’s national team but declined as he’s not 100 per cent healthy.
Goalie Arturs Silovs, who has won MVP at the tournament in the past, is currently playing in the AHL playoffs and therefore will be unable to attend the event.
Finally, Team Sweden hasn’t been fully unveiled, but there’s a possibility that Tom Willander will make the final roster. HeĀ is currently in Sweden, playing exhibition games for the national team in a pre-tournament warm-upĀ event.
Canucks fans will have plenty of players to cheer on at the World Championship with three already confirmed and more potentially on rosters still to be announced.