Of the Sabres World Cup "snub(s)"

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


The Buffalo Sabres landed three players on the recently announced final World Cup rosters which is pretty good for a team that just emerged from two consecutive last place finishes. Center Jack Eichel was a shoe-in for Team North America and it came as no surprise that Team Finland added defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to it's roster. Sabres goalie Robin Lehner was one of seven players Team Sweden added and he'll be part of a goaltending trio featuring Henrik Lundqvist (NYR) and Jakob Markstrom (VAN.)

It comes as no surprise that Team Canada will be headed to the September 17-October 1 event in Toronto with a star-studded roster featuring some of the best the NHL has to offer. On a younger scale Team North America boasts a roster of burgeoning stars under the age of 23 lead by three franchise players who are still teenagers. And it was these two squads that would leave off a couple of Sabres players that made a strong case to make the World Cup.

Buffalo center Ryan O'Reilly just helped Team Canada to their second consecutive gold medal at the IIHF World Championships in Russia. The two-way center known for his faceoff acumen was an assistant captain for the Canadians and contributed eight points (2+6) in 10 games, was a plus-10, and took nearly every important draw during the tournament, especially in the medal rounds.

As a defensive cog playing a two-way, second-line role, O'Reilly held the fort while the likes of Edmonton's Taylor Hall (6 goals,) Colorado's Matt Duchene (5) and the NY Rangers' Derick Brassard (5) lead Team Canada to a tournament-high 46 goals in 10 games. On the defensive side, the Canadians were second to Team Finland in goals-against giving up only 11 for the tournament while the penalty kill, which O'Reilly helped anchor, allowed only two goals on 29 powerplay opportunities against for a 93.1% kill-rate.

Keep an eye on at least two more Sabres for World Cup roster spots

The 2016 World Cup of Hockey preliminary rosters were announced yesterday with 16 players on each of the eight teams being locked in for the tournament that begins September 17 in Toronto, ON.

Although the tournament, which could run as late as October 1, conflicts with NHL training camps, the rosters are packed with the best that the NHL has to offer, many of whom would be minimally involved in their team's early preseason schedule.

Two Buffalo Sabres players have been selected to represent their respective countries/continents thus far--C, Jack Eichel and D, Rasmus Ristolanen.

Eichel will be on the North American team which is comprised of players under 23 yrs. of age with at target cut-off date of September 1. One only need to look at the crop of NHL rookies this year to know that the Youngstars team will be a formidable foe. Eichel will be joining the likes of fellow 2015 top-pick, phenom Connor McDavid and the No.2 rookie goal-scorer in the Detroit Red Wings', Dylan Larkin. Names like Nathan MacKinnon (COL,) Aaron Ekblad (FLA,) Johnny Gaudreau (CGY,) and Brandon Saad (CBJ) are also a part of the preliminary North American roster.

Ristolainen was tabbed to be a part of Team Finland. The Sabres defenseman is no stranger to the world stage as he scored the golden goal for Finland in overtime at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championships in Malmo, Sweden. Which fans can watch here, thanks to NHLUniverse:

Not surprisingly, Ristolainen was named the tournament's best defenseman.