An injury keeps Buffalo’s Casey Mittelstadt off the Team USA roster.
By Jourdon LaBarber / Sabres.com
For the past three years, the IIHF World Championship has concluded in familiar fashion – with Ryan O’Reilly and Canada playing for a medal. After settling for silver with a loss to Sweden last year, O’Reilly will try again for gold when the tournament begins in Denmark on Friday.
O’Reilly is one of two Buffalo Sabres competing in this year’s tournament, along with Swedish forward Johan Larsson. O’Reilly will be looking for his third gold medal in four years; Larsson will be playing in the tournament for the first time since 2012.
The Sabres were hopeful that forward Casey Mittelstadt would represent Team USA, but he was left off the roster due to a groin injury. General manager Jason Botterill said at the NHL Draft Lottery last Saturday that the injury should only take a couple weeks to heal.
O’Reilly will serve as an alternate captain for Canada for the third-straight year. Connor McDavid has been named team captain, while St. Louis forward Brayden Schenn will serve as the other alternate. Canada’s roster is comprised entirely of NHL players, save for junior goaltender Michael DiPietro.
Larsson is one of 15 NHL players on Sweden’s roster, a group that also includes former Sabres goalie Anders Nilsson, New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad and Arizona defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
The tournament comprises 16 teams divided into two groups. The top four teams in each group following the Preliminary Round will advance to the quarterfinals.