Noon World Cup Player Notes (Sep 12)

We'll start with last night's pre-tournament game, where North America and Europe tangled once again.  Dylan Larkin & Colton Parayko both were inserted into the lineup after being scratches in the first game and coming out were J.T. Miller & Jacob Trouba as healthy scratches.  There has been no indication about their third and final game, Wednesday night against the Czechs.  It's tough to say whether or not the coaching staff needs to see different combinations or not, so we'll definitely see.  Matt Murray was designated as the third goalie, as John Gibson got the start and Connor Hellebuyck drew in as the back-up.

Going back in were two drafted players in Larkin and Parayko, as Benson & Scott were likely both happy to see their picks draw back in for some practice.  Miller and Trouba were not drafted yesterday and coincidentally, not playing either.  Go figure.

As for the goaltending, we shouldn't look too much into that move, but it will be interesting to see if Hellebuyck gets a start, just for showing up.

Marian Hossa was given the green light after suffering a minor injury, which cut his first game short on Thursday last week, so he was in the lineup on Sunday night.  That was definitely good news for Team Europe, who could use all the help they can get in this tournament.  Veterans Thomas Vanek and Dennis Seidenberg also figured into the lineup, as Tobias Rieder and Christian Ehrhoff both came out to make room.  Game three of the pre-tournament schedule will see Europe play against Sweden and I would imagine there will be a bit more tinkering done before that game.

Of the five players mentioned, our pool newcomer, Marcie, picked up Hossa for her side and it would have to be somewhat of a relief that he will draw in and should be ready for Saturday night, when Europe opens the tourney against the USA.

Team Canada is saying that forward Claude Giroux was given a maintenance day, as the rest of the team was skating ahead of their third and final warm-up game, which will go on Wednesday against Russia.  Giroux did undergo some off-season surgery, which should have been far back enough that maintenance isn't required, but something isn't 100% right, which may or may not be a concern, but it could be a reason to have him as the 13th forward in the tournament.

This could be bad news for Clayton, who opted to take Giroux in the draft, getting on the bandwagon of Canadian forwards.  21 of 23 available players from Team Canada were taken in the 120 taken overall and Giroux was a 5th round pick in the draft, so there is a fair bit on the line, if he isn't able to dress right away.  For now, he'll be day-to-day and we'll see if he dresses for the last warm-up game.