Canada is defending its World Cup gold with a fairly young team.
Mathew Barzal scored 59 points this NHL season. AOP
The reigning world champion Canada has nominated his team to the World Championships in Finland. The young team will be stared by the New York Islanders power striker Mathew Barzal and the number one defender of the Ottawa Senators Thomas Chabot.
Other hard-hitting NHL names include Pierre-Luc Dubois, Damon Severson, Drake Batherson, Josh Anderson and Ryan Graves.
The average age of the team is only 24.9 years and it includes only two players over the age of 30.
Canada plays in the Helsinki block, where its main opponents are Switzerland, Germany and Slovakia.
Canada covered Finland in last year’s World Cup final with overtime Nick Paulin by hitting. The team will be coached by a veteran coach at the World Championships Claude Julien.