TORONTO -- The question that stumped the audience came from a Canadian wondering out loud about a team that a year from now will feature European players from as many as 10 nations for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

"Whose anthem do they play if they win the tournament?" Steven Stamkos said when discussing Team Europe, one of eight teams in the tournament but one of two that won't be representing a single nation. "They've gotta think about that one."

Even NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr admitted it was an interesting question posed by the Canadian forward and captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Team Europe will be comprised of 23 players who can come from every European country except Russia, Finland, Sweden and Czech Republic, the four nations that already have a team scheduled to compete in the World Cup next year.

TORONTO -- The NHL and the NHL Players' Association brought the 2016 World Cup of Hockey into focus Wednesday by putting on a grand show at Air Canada Centre that featured several of the best players in the world and plenty of information regarding the tournament.

The League and the NHLPA jointly announced plans and released information for the World Cup, including the groups, key dates and schedule, rules and regulations, and management teams for Team North America and Team Europe.

This will be the first World Cup of Hockey since 2004, when Canada won gold.

Former Edmonton Oilers coach Ralph Krueger was named coach of Team Europe for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey on Wednesday.

Team Europe will draw players from those European countries outside of the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden.

Earlier Wednesday, German Ice Hockey Federation president Franz Reindl was named president/team leader for Team Europe and former NHL player and Slovakia team captain Miroslav Satan was named general manager.

The United States has developed into one of the top hockey nations since winning the World Cup of Hockey in 1996, but it hasn't had a signature win in a best-on-best tournament since that 5-2 victory against Canada in Montreal.

The United States won the silver medal in two of the past five Olympics (2002 Salt Lake City, 2010 Vancouver) and the bronze medal three times at the IIHF World Championship (2004, 2013, 2015). It is coming off a disappointing 2014 Sochi Olympics, when it didn't score in losing to Canada in the semifinals (1-0) and to Finland in the bronze-medal game (5-0).

The Team USA roster for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey could look similar to the one it had in Sochi, with a few significant changes.

Here is what Team USA's roster could look like for the tournament, which will be held Sept. 17-Oct. 1, 2016, in Toronto (alphabetically by position):

Canada has won the Olympic gold medal twice in a row, and its performance in Sochi in 2014 was considered one of the most dominant of all time.

Canada allowed three goals and 129 shots on goal in six games, using a possession game to keep the puck away from its net and then counting on goaltender Carey Price when teams managed to mount any attack.

Powerful opponents like the United States and Sweden were left demoralized after shutout losses to Canada in the semifinal and final, respectively.

The core of that team should be back at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto, with one very important addition, a player who missed the 2014 Olympics because of an injury (Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning) and some younger talent that has matured into dominant players refreshing the roster.

Here is what Team Canada's roster could look like for the tournament, which will be held Sept. 17-Oct. 1, 2016, in Toronto (alphabetically by position):

Sixteen years after the "Miracle on Ice" United States team shocked the Soviet Union at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, a group of players spawned by the greatest upset in hockey history did something similar to Canada at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

The successor to the Canada Cup tournament was an eight-team event, the first best-on-best competition in five years.

The United States and Canada joined Russia and Slovakia in a North American pool, with games in New York, Philadelphia, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver. Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic and Germany formed the European pool, which played games in Helsinki, Stockholm, Prague and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The top three teams in each group advanced to the quarterfinals, which were played in North America.

Eight years after losing the final of the first World Cup of Hockey at home, Canada wasn't about to let that happen again in 2004.

The second edition of the preseason best-on-best tournament involved the same eight nations and the same alignment as the 1996 tournament.

Canada, the United States, Russia and Slovakia were in the North American pool, which was played in Montreal, Toronto and St. Paul, Minn. Sweden, Finland, Germany and the Czech Republic formed the European pool, with games played in Stockholm, Helsinki, Cologne and Prague.

TORONTO -- There is something special, NHL players will tell you, about wearing the jersey of your home nation.

With the return of the World Cup of Hockey in 2016, many NHL players will experience that cherished opportunity.

In a joint announcement by the NHLPA and the NHL on September 9 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, one attended by some of the game's biggest names, the international tournament had the players talking.

"I remember the first World Cup (1996) when the U.S. beat Canada," said Chicago captain and Winnipeg native Jonathan Toews, who won the 2006 and 2007 World Junior title with Canada, along with Olympic gold medals in 2010 and 2014. "The next one (2004), Canada won, so that was more enjoyable to watch, for sure. When you're a fan growing up, you take it so seriously. It’s always much more than hockey when you play at the international level. It's almost political bragging rights for everyone involved."

TORONTO -- The National Hockey League (NHL®) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) announced today the schedule for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. From Sept. 17 to Oct. 1, 2016, eight teams -- Team Canada, Team Czech Republic, Team Finland, Team Russia, Team Sweden, Team USA, Team Europe and Team North America -- will compete in a best-on-best international hockey championship.

The two-week tournament, featuring more than 150 of the best players in the NHL, will progress from the Preliminary Round to the Semifinals and ultimately the Final. All tournament games will be played at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, home of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs®. A select number of tickets for the event will go on sale to the public Thursday, Nov. 12 at Ticketmaster.ca. Click here to sign up for ticket information, announcements and special offers.

TORONTO – The National Hockey League (NHL®) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) announced today the appointment of German Ice Hockey Federation President Franz Reindl to the position of President/Team Leader and former Slovakia team captain Miroslav Satan as General Manager of Team Europe for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Reindl and Satan will select the playing roster, coaching and support staff and subsequently oversee all tournament preparations and management for Team Europe, a pan-European roster of players from birth countries outside of the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden – that is, all of the other European countries who are developing world-class hockey players in ever-increasing numbers. Players from Reindl and Satan's home countries of Germany and Slovakia, respectively, will be eligible for selection, plus many others that include Austria, Belarus, Denmark, France, Latvia, Norway, Slovenia and Switzerland.