COLUMBUS, Ohio — New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak is thankful rather than insulted that he and Slovak countrymen will be eligible to play for a European All-Star team instead of Slovakia in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
"Obviously if it was 10 years ago it would be upsetting because we had a lot of guys in the NHL," Halak said. "Right now we have maybe 12. It would be tough to make a team out of 12 guys."
Although details of the event are not yet official, it has leaked out that the format will include national teams from Canada, USA, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic and Russia. The seventh team will be an All-Star team from leftover countries such as Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, etc. The eighth team will be an under-23 North American team.
"I'm open to it," Halak said on media day during NHL All-Star weekend. "It would be nice to play with players with different countries."
That team could be formidable with the likes of Anze Kopitar (Slovenia), Zdeno Chara (Slovakia), Roman Josi (Switzerland), Frans Nielsen (Denmark) and Christian Ehrhoff (Germany) among others.
Kopitar said it thought it would be a "cool experience."
"I think the guys are trying to make it competitive and the best possible tournament it can be, so if that's the case, that's what it is," Kopitar said.
There's plenty of details still to be revealed, such as what uniform those players should wear and who will be in charge. What national anthem would be played?
Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, a Canadian, said he'd be fine playing on a team with Americans.
"You have a lot of guys you are friends with anyways, so it makes it pretty easy," he said. "Usually, whatever team you're on, it doesn't matter who you're playing with. It matters who're playing against."
And no one is quite sure what to make of the under-23 North American team.
It would seem possible that a young goalie like Anaheim's John Gibson, playing for that team, could get hot and take down Canada or the USA.
"I'm still trying to absorb some of that," said New York Islanders John Tavares, who undoubtedly will play for Team Canada. "It's certainly different. I think you will certainly see some tremendous hockey. It is obviously something different. It's something we've never seen before. It's something I would like to be a part of."
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