Early 2024 World Cup roster projection: Canada
One of these years, all the fantasies will become realities. We dreamed up 2018 Olympic rosters only to see the NHL step away from Pyeongchang. We had 2022 Olympic rosters for Beijing in our heads, but COVID-19 concerns caused the league to pull out of the Winter Games again. Will the World Cup of Hockey, slated for 2024, actually happen, giving us the closest thing to a true best-on-best men’s hockey tournament since the 2014 Sochi Games?
The NHL, NHL Players’ Association and IIHF continue to work toward that goal, albeit NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently admitted the hour was getting late and other recent reports have indicated the tournament could be delayed. Assuming the negotiations come through and we get a 17-day World Cup tournament during Winter 2024…why not get started on some early roster projections? It’s all in good fun, right?
While the field for the tournament is not yet set, we have a rough idea of which nations will comprise the bulk of the eight-team field. The No. 8 team will be determined by a play-in, and Russian participation remains very much up in the air due to the conflict with Ukraine.
But we can safely start with Canada, a team guaranteed to participate and, let’s be honest, the lightning rod for more debate than the other nations will generate combined. Each projected roster consists of 20 skaters and three goaltenders.
FORWARDS – Matt Larkin’s picks
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Connor McDavid | Nathan MacKinnon |
| Steven Stamkos | Brayden Point | Mitch Marner |
| Brad Marchand | Sidney Crosby | Drake Batherson |
| Ryan O’Reilly | Robert Thomas | Mark Stone |
| Mathew Barzal |
More so than the other powerhouse nations, Canada has a recent history of opting for line chemistry over pure talent in hopes of crafting a more cohesive team. That’s the mentality that got Chris Kunitz on the 2014 Sochi squad and even Brad Marchand on the 2016 World Cup squad before he had broken out as an offensive superstar. So I’ve factored chemistry into the decisions here.
Yes, I’m using two centers on one line, deploying Nathan MacKinnon as a finisher alongside Jonathan Huberdeau and Connor McDavid. MacKinnon is tickled by the idea of getting to play with McDavid. He said so at the NHL Player Media Tour in September.
The second line has some carryover team chemistry between Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point. Stamkos is the obvious trigger man here, playing his offhand wing, with Point the two-way conscience, so we need a distributor to complement them. That’s where Marner comes in.
The Marchand-Crosby pair is an easy one to maintain on the third line given their wonderful chemistry at the 2016 World Cup. Gone is their right winger, Patrice Bergeron, who I’ve projected to retire in summer 2023. I want to keep this line feisty and physical, so I’m going a bit off the board with the big, skilled Drake Batherson here. He’s a dual American-Canadian citizen but has always repped Canada at international tournaments.
The fourth line will be tasked with shutdown duty, so I want the group to be brainy. Mark Stone was an easy choice. I’m operating under the assumption that Doug Armstrong resumes his work as Canada GM, so I have a pair of Blues here in O’Reilly and Thomas, albeit O’Reilly is a pending UFA and might be playing elsewhere in 2024. I like the intelligence Thomas brings to this line. I could be convinced to bump O’Reilly for a fresher set of legs like Nick Suzuki’s.
Also considered: Nick Suzuki, Patrice Bergeron, John Tavares, Jordan Kyrou, Mark Scheifele, Nazem Kadri, Evander Kane, Connor Bedard, Anthony Cirelli
FORWARDS – Frank Seravalli’s picks
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Connor McDavid | Nathan MacKinnon |
| Nazem Kadri | Brayden Point | Steven Stamkos |
| Brad Marchand | Sidney Crosby | Patrice Bergeron |
| Ryan O’Reilly | Robert Thomas | Anthony Cirelli |
| John Tavares |
We ended up with nine of the same forwards, but I think we went about it in a little bit of a different way. Matt was maybe a little more focused on chemistry and fit, which is always a huge consideration for any management team, but I tried to check a few more boxes with regards to style of play. For this exercise, I leaned heavily on the findings from our recent Daily Faceoff Archetypes Ranking project.
One of the best parts of the Archetype project is the team building function – you’d ideally want to check a lot of the boxes. All four of the Canadian-born Franchise players are part of the project. There are four Clutch players (Patrice Bergeron, Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli and Ryan O’Reilly). There are two elite distributors (Jonathan Huberdeau and Robert Thomas) to go along with one pure Shooter (Steven Stamkos) and the second-best Net-Front Scorer (John Tavares) in the league. Plus, the all-important mix of Power Forwards (Brad Marchand and Jordan Kyrou). If Doug Armstrong is again the GM of Team Canada, then Kyrou and Thomas are pretty sure bets, since he’s seen them up close and is clearly a big believer with their contracts. It pained me to leave off Evander Kane and Tom Wilson in those discussions, but Wilson will also have something to prove coming off his ACL tear.
Also considered: Jordan Kyrou, Tom Wilson, Nick Suzuki, Andrew Mangiapane, Evander Kane
DEFENSEMEN – Matt Larkin’s picks
| Devon Toews | Cale Makar |
| MacKenzie Weegar | Aaron Ekblad |
| Shea Theodore | Alex Pietrangelo |
| Darnell Nurse |
Just a couple years ago, when people like me were projecting a 2022 Olympic roster, there was talk of Canada’s blueline looking a bit thin. Things change quickly. Canada has depth, talent, versatility and, most of all, chemistry in my mock lineup.
We carry over the Stanley Cup winning top pair of Devon Toews and Cale Makar, who epitomize what it means to be modern-era play drivers.
The second pair reunites the former Florida pairing of good friends MacKenzie Weegar and Aaron Ekblad. They’re both righties, yes, but Weegar is capable of playing both sides and often played the left side as a Panther on a dynamite pair with Ekblad. Opponents will hesitate to crash Canada’s net with these two around.
The third pair is a safe, highly mobile Vegas carryover of Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo, albeit they aren’t typically on the same pair with the Golden Knights. If Canada needs a sudden injection of energy and snarl, Darnell Nurse awaits.
Also considered: Noah Dobson, Kris Letang, Morgan Rielly
DEFENSEMEN – Frank Seravalli’s picks
| Shea Theodore | Cale Makar |
| Devon Toews | Aaron Ekblad |
| Thomas Chabot | MacKenzie Weegar |
| Owen Power |
Nearly 18 months out from this tournament, part of this is pure projection when you see a player like Owen Power crack the lineup. Power hasn’t quite scratched the surface yet of his capabilities at the NHL level and I’d expect the 2021 No. 1 overall pick to blossom in short order skating on the same blueline as fellow top pick Rasmus Dahlin in Buffalo. In a small sample size in Calgary, MacKenzie Weegar appears to have answered the question about whether or not he can be a star outside of Ekblad’s shadow – and in this case, they can be reunited again. The versatility factor for Weegar to be able to play either side is also a huge bonus.
The emphasis in building my Team Canada roster was on efficiency of puck movement. Who are the best seven or eight defensemen in the world at getting your team out of trouble? Brent Burns was a tough one to leave off the list because he’s showing in Carolina that he’s maybe just as good as he’s even been. Will that be the same 16 months from now? And what about Alex Pietrangelo’s game as he continues to age in Vegas? That Pietrangelo was one of the first three official selections for Team Canada last time could be making this projection look foolish.
Also considered: Brent Burns, Alex Pietrangelo, Morgan Rielly, Josh Morrissey, Bowen Byram, Ryan Graves
GOALTENDERS – Matt Larkin’s picks
| Tristan Jarry |
| Darcy Kuemper |
| Marc-Andre Fleury |
If you’ll recall, Canada had tabbed six different goalies for its Olympic watch list last year. That’s how much the position is in flux, and it’s undoubtedly the closest thing Canada has to a weakness if you compare its netminders to the embarrassment of riches the U.S. or Russia has.
I have Tristan Jarry, Marc-Andre Fleury and Darcy Kuemper as my trio, but they could easily be displaced by Jordan Binnington or Carter Hart depending on how the next year and a half plays out in the NHL. Given Fleury will be 39 when this tournament happens, he’s most likely going to be a third man and cheerleader. Carey Price claims he still hopes to play again, and if he’s healthy a year from now, he’ll get a long look, though it would be a stretch for even a healthy Price to want to push his body through a tournament in the middle of the NHL schedule.
Also considered: Jordan Binnington, Carter Hart, Carey Price
GOALTENDERS – Frank Seravalli’s picks
| Tristan Jarry |
| Carter Hart |
| Stuart Skinner |
Surprise! Stuart Skinner is off to a great start in Edmonton, and could wrestle playing time away from Jack Campbell in short order. Perhaps there is some recency bias there in that selection, but I think his game will only continue to grow. Matt and I are in agreement on Jarry as the leading candidate, but something about Kuemper’s game in the Stanley Cup playoffs (injury may have impacted?) didn’t leave me feeling quite comfortable in choosing him.
Also considered: Darcy Kuemper, Logan Thompson, Jordan Binnington, Marc-Andre Fleury
Teams at a Glance
TEAM LARKIN
Huberdeau-McDavid-MacKinnon
Stamkos-Point-Marner
Marchand-Crosby-Batherson
O’Reilly-Thomas-Stone
Barzal
Toews-Makar
Weegar-Ekblad
Theodore-Pietrangelo
Nurse
Jarry
Kuemper
Fleury
TEAM SERAVALLI
Huberdeau-McDavid-MacKinnon
Kadri-Point-Stamkos
Marchand-Crosby-Bergeron
O’Reilly-Thomas-Cirelli
Tavares
Theodore-Makar
Toews-Ekblad
Chabot-Weegar
Power
Jarry
Hart
Skinner
_____
POINTSBET IS LIVE IN ONTARIO. PLAY NOW!
Think you know sports? PointsBet Canada is live in Ontario!