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There’s more to Team USA at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey than just head coach John Tortorella’s hard stance on players standing for the National Anthem. Unless they’d like to be benched for the entire game, of course. And it finally gets underway for the Americans on Friday night with a 7 p.m. pre-tournament exhibition game against Team Canada at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Tortorella’s has established the nuts and bolts of the team’s configuration thus far, with San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski named to the same role for the tournament, while Chicago Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane and Minnesota’s Ryan Suter are the team’s alternates.
And with a roster loaded with talent in the crease, Tortorella has named his starter for the group’s first game: Los Angeles Kings netminder -- and two-time Stanley Cup winner -- Jonathan Quick.
The decision to go with the 30-year-old for the group’s first contest comes as an easy one if for only Quick’s track record in international play, which included a .923 save percentage and 2.17 goals against average in five games for Team USA at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.
Tortorella did note, however, that this does not make Quick the uncontested starter for the tournament. In fact, Quick won’t even get the full game in, as he will be replaced by Tampa Bay Lightning netminder and fellow 2016 Vezina Trophy finalist Ben Bishop midway through the game or after two periods of play. This also means that Cory Schneider will be the team’s scratch.
Exhibition or not, the USA will need straight-up incredible goaltending from either netminder to hang with a Team Canada squad that’s loaded with firepower on all four lines, and on the backend, too.
To combat that, it appears that the USA will load up where they can on a diverse roster grouping.
They’ve practiced this way for a few days now, but sure looks like Kane-Pavelski-Parise, Suter-Byfuglien is Team USA’s top PP unit. #WCH2016
— Rob Mixer (@RobMixer) September 8, 2016
Given the excess of roleplayers and more bottom-six oriented talent as they go down the roster versus a Canada roster of skill on top of skill, the Americans will need to find ways to make it count on the power plays that come their way, especially when taking a penalty against just about anybody in this tournament seems like a deathwish. (Seriously, look at that Team North America squad’s speed and talent and tell me it’s smart to open the ice up even more for their young guns.)
Friday will be the start of a home-and-home between the USA and Canada, with a Saturday showdown in Ottawa at the Canadian Tire Center to follow, and a Tuesday night pre-tournament finale against Team Finland set for Tuesday, Sept. 13, at the Verizon Center in D.C. to wrap it up.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can also be read in the New England Hockey Journal magazine. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.