The countdown to the 2016 World Cup of Hockey has begun, which means answers to questions pertaining to coaches, rosters and depth charts for the eight participating teams will slowly start coming into focus.

The tournament is scheduled to begin Sept. 17 and end as late as Oct. 1. All games will be played at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Canada, the United States, Russia, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland are the six countries that will be represented. The field is rounded out by Team North America, an all-star team of players from Canada and the United States who are 23 years old or younger, and Team Europe, an all-star team featuring the top players from European countries that are not competing in the tournament, such as Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Norway, Austria, Latvia and Denmark.

Former NHL players Nicklas Lidstrom, Daniel Alfredsson and Mats Sundin have been named to Sweden's advisory board for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Lidstrom, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 9 in Toronto, won the Norris Trophy seven times. He was a First-Team All-Star 10 times and played in the NHL All-Star Game 11 times. He had 264 goals and 1,142 points, all with the Detroit Red Wings. In 20 NHL seasons, he never missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs and won four championships and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs in 2002. He became the first European captain to hoist the Stanley Cup in 2008.

Minutes after being named general manager of the United States for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey on Thursday, Dean Lombardi sat down with NHL.com for an exclusive question-and-answer session and shared his thoughts about the appointment and his plans for the team.

NHL.com: Your introductory speech was so powerful and rich with USA Hockey history and American history today. You stressed things like burying the ego and being a good teammate first and foremost. I'm curious where that came from for you?

Lombardi: Probably two things I have to say. I'm just so proud to be an American and have this job. Secondly, it's something that I believe in wholeheartedly. Like I said, I believe those are things that are going to be critical and the things that make this such a great game. When you have it, it is incredibly powerful.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel represented different teams and different countries last season on the way to becoming the top two picks at the 2015 NHL Draft.

Imagine for a moment that they're playing on the same team and working the same power-play unit on a world stage.

It could happen when the World Cup of Hockey takes place in September 2016. The eight-team tournament, which will take place at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, will feature not only national teams from the United States, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic, as well as a team of top players from other European nations and a North American Under-23 Youngstars team that might include McDavid and Eichel.

The management team for USA Hockey, including general manager Dean Lombardi, assistant GM Paul Holmgren and assistant executive director of hockey operations Jim Johannson, on Thursday discussed what could turn out to be one of the more entertaining teams at the tournament.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- Dean Lombardi passionately embraced his appointment as general manager of the United States for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

"To be trusted with this responsibility, in this role of serving my country, is one of the highest honors of my career," Lombardi said Thursday. "I can assure you that myself and my staff will do everything in our power to make this country proud."

During his opening remarks, Lombardi, the president and GM of the Los Angeles Kings, trotted out mileposts of the growth of USA Hockey, framed by the program's twin peaks of excellence: the 1980 Olympic gold-medal winners and the 1996 World Cup championship team.

TORONTO -- St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong will be the general manager for Canada for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, Hockey Canada announced Monday.

The tournament will be held Sept. 16 to Oct. 1, 2016, with all games at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

"I can't obviously sit here and guarantee that we're going to win the World Cup, but I can guarantee to the fans of Canada that this group will work tirelessly to put the best coaching staff together, the best players together to represent our country with great pride and dignity," Armstrong said.

Armstrong has been general manager of the Blues since 2010, and they've made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in four of his five seasons. Armstrong also was assistant general manager when the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999. He also was part of Canada's management group for gold medals at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Named as assistants were Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland, Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray, Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, Los Angeles Kings assistant GM Rob Blake, and Hockey Canada vice-president of hockey operations and national teams Scott Salmond.

The World Cup of Hockey is returning in 2016 and so is ESPN as a broadcast partner with the NHL.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL Players Association President Don Fehr jointly announced Wednesday that ESPN has been awarded exclusive media rights in the United States to the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which will take place Sept. 17-Oct. 1, 2016, at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Bettman and Fehr also announced Rogers and TVA have been awarded the exclusive English and French media rights, respectively, in Canada.

"We are confident that all three of these broadcasters will provide the type of coverage our fans expect and deserve for an event of this magnitude," Commissioner Bettman said. "We are excited and looking forward to a spectacular World Cup."

NEW YORK/TORONTO – Sportsnet has been awarded the exclusive English-language media rights in Canada and TVA Sports the exclusive French-language media rights in Canada to the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, the National Hockey League (NHL®) and National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) announced today. The deal covers all tournament games – round-robin, semi-final and the best-of-three final – for the 2016 tournament and includes television, online and mobile rights.

The World Cup of Hockey will be played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto Sept. 17 – Oct. 1, 2016. Eight teams, comprised of the world's best hockey players, will compete for a best-on-best international hockey championship.

NEW YORK/TORONTO – ESPN has been awarded the exclusive U.S. media rights to the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, the National Hockey League (NHL®) and National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) announced today. The World Cup of Hockey will be played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto Sept. 17 – Oct. 1, 2016. Eight teams, comprised of the world's best hockey players, will compete for a best-on-best international hockey championship.

The deal covers all tournament games – round-robin, semi-final and the best-of-three final – for the 2016 tournament and includes exclusive rights on television and radio, with most games to appear on ESPN and ESPN2. ESPN International gains the exclusive rights in over 20 countries served by its Pacific Rim and Latin North networks. Additionally, live access to coverage of the event on ESPN networks will be available through WatchESPN on computers, smartphones, tablets, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One via an affiliated video provider.

MONTREAL -- There is little debate about who is the face of Canada goaltending.

His name is Carey Price, he plays for the Montreal Canadiens, and he has a shiny gold medal from the 2014 Sochi Olympics sitting at home.

That much is certainly clear, but with the World Cup of Hockey making a return in 2016, Canada's next wave of goaltenders, who will likely need to fight to be Price's backup, could be the source of great debate. However, an argument can easily be made that as of now the man sitting in the pole position for that job would be Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals.