Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Mathew Barzal will be flag carriers from Burnaby when Canada takes to the ice for the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation’s world championships next month in Denmark.
The pair were among the first list of selections who accepted the invitation to represent Canada, following the end of the NHL’s regular season.
Canada’s roster of 19 – with more potential additions following the end of the first round of NHL playoffs – includes Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Vancouver’s Bo Horvat.
At 25, Nugent-Hopkins brings a varied list of international experience to the roster, including playing for Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He captained Team Canada at the 2013 IIHF world junior championships, and competed in 2010 in the Ivan Hlinka under-18 Memorial tournament.
As a former NHL Entry Draft No. 1 overall selection, Nugent-Hopkins has been in the spotlight for numerous years. In his seventh season with the Edmonton Oilers, the forward counted 24 goals and 24 assists in 62 NHL games.
Barzal, 20, will be representing Canada for a fifth straight year, after playing in the world junior championships in 2016 and ’17. He was also in red and white for the 2015 and ’14 under-18 world championships, as well as the 2014 Hlinka Memorial tournament.
Barzal is one of the top candidates in the voting for the NHL’s Calder Trophy for top rookie, after posting 22 goals and 63 assists in 82 games with the New York Islanders.
Both Barzal and Nugent-Hopkins came up through the Burnaby Winter Club and led the program to separate Western Canada championships.
The IIHF tournament kicks off May 4 when Canada plays the U.S. They are also slated to play Denmark, Finland, Germany, South Korea, Latvia and Norway. The final is slated for May 20.
Canada has won two of the last three titles, beating Russia in 2015 and Finland in ‘16, before falling to Sweden last year in the final.
