Jacob Markstrom confirmed he will be suiting up for Team Sweden; this will be the third time for Markstrom competing with Tre Kronor.
A handful of other Canucks have yet to decide if they'll represent their countries or not. Elias Pettersson headlines the list and is likely to play. He said he wants to talk things over with his family and his agent before committing.
Loui Eriksson, Markus Granlund and Chris Tanev are all a maybe, although Tanev remains in a walking boot for the next 10 days, making his timeline to playing at the World Championship very tight. "It seems unlikely based on my injury," the 29-year-old told reporters Monday.
Thatcher Demko hasn't been officially asked to play for Team USA, but his agent has informed him that it's an option.
Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser will not be playing at the World Championship. Horvat, who played last season helping Canada finish fourth, is anticipating a busy off-season. "He's getting marrrrried," interjected a laughing Boeser, who will focus on training this summer instead of playing at Worlds. The 22-year-old was injured late last season and spent the majority of last summer rehabbing his back, so he's looking to hit the ground running this off-season.
Team Canada coach Alain Vigneault reached out to Canucks coach Travis Green about being part of his staff for the World Championship, but Green declined based on family commitments. Family first.
Jay Beagle, seated alongside Luke Schenn when Markstrom and Tanev discussed their World Championship availability, wanted the hockey world to know one thing: "Me and Schenn are also available!"
The World Championship preliminary round kicks off May 20th in Slovakia, with Group A (Canada, United States, Finland, Germany, Slovaki, Denmark, France and Great Britain) playing at Steel Arena in Kosice, and Group B (Sweden, Russia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Norway, Latvia, Austria and Italy) battling it out in Bratislava at Ondrej Nepela Arena.
