Stars at the World Championship
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
The Dallas Stars may not be in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but five of their players, one of their top prospects and coach Dave Tippett will be in a tournament of a different type starting this Friday. They'll all be taking part in the 2009 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland.
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Forwards Loui Eriksson and Joel Lundqvist, and defenseman Nicklas Grossman are playing for Sweden, forward James Neal is suiting up for Canada, defenseman Matt Niskanen will be playing for Team USA and defense prospect Philip Larsen will be suiting up for Denmark.
The tournament, which runs from April 24 through May 10, features 16 teams that will be eventually whittled down to eight teams that will enter a single elimination playoff round.
Tippett, who is serving as an associate coach for Canada, sees it as a good opportunity for the Stars' younger players.
"Every experience a young player can have like this, especially where you have some of the best players in the world, can only help you," Tippett said. "Playing games where every play counts just enhances their ability to do it in the NHL. I think it is a great opportunity for young guys."
Among the big name players in the tournament are Dany Heatley (Canada), Martin St. Louis (Canada), Jason Spezza (Canada), Jaromir Jagr (Czech Republic), Ilya Kovalchuk (Russia) and Ilya Bryzgalov (Russia). The Russians are the defending champs.
All the Stars' players have suited up for their country at one time or another in their careers. This will be the second time for Niskanen, who played for Team USA at the 2006 World Junior Championship.
"I get to play some more hockey, play against some good players," Niskanen said about going to Switzerland. "It will be a little different format, big ice and international rules. It will be a good experience for me and should help my game in the long run."
Neal won a gold medal with Canada at the 2007 World Junior Championship.
“Obviously, I’d like to be playing in the playoffs, but this keeps things going,” Neal said. “It will be competitive and any time you can play for your country and put on the Team Canada jersey it is something special."
Eriksson has played for Sweden at the World Juniors twice and at the U18 tournament as well. This will be his first time at the World Championship.
"It's going to be real fun because this is my first time to play there," Eriksson said. "It's like the playoffs. It's going to be a real inspiring tournament for me to experience. I am really looking forward to it.'
Tippett sees it as a good opportunity for himself as well. He will be working with head coach Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres and fellow associate coach Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators.
"I'm looking forward to seeing new ideas, different styles of play," said Tippett. "That tournament over there is their Stanley Cup Finals. It's a very exciting time for that."
World Championship Notes
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Jonas Gustavsson, the Swedish goalie being pursued by the Stars and other NHL teams, will not be with Sweden to start the tournament. He will remain home due to an illness in the family. (Update: Media in Sweden report Gustavsson said Thursday he will arrive in Switzerland on Friday).
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Switzerland beat Team USA 5-2 in exhibition play Wednesday. Matt Niskanen had no points and a minus-two rating. Dustin Brown scored both goals for the Americans.
World Championship Teams
Group A: Canada,
Slovakia, Belarus, Hungary
Group B: Russia, Switzerland, Germany, France
Group C: Sweden, USA, Latvia, Austria
Group D: Finland, Czech Republic, Norway, Denmark
World Championship Links
TV Rights
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TSN in Canada
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Universal Sports in the United States
