"I think just personally, I didn't want the season to be over here," said Gaudreau. "I wanted to keep playing and I think we deserved to still be playing. For me, I think going over there and playing for my country, it's always exciting."
Gaudreau is no stranger to the international stage.
He had two goals and 10 points in eight games for Team USA at the 2014 IIHF World Championship in Minsk, Belarus, and won gold as a member of the U.S. National Junior Team at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia. There, Gaudreau was named to the tournament all-star team after recording seven goals and nine points for Team USA.
Another chance to wear red, white and blue has the 23-year-old ready to go.
"I've talked to some guys that are on the team," started Gaudreau, who officially caps his 2016-17 season as Calgary's leading point-getter with 61 in 72 regular season games played.
"We have a good group out there, so I'm excited to go over there and keep playing hockey."
The United States play an exhibition game in Milan, Italy on May 2 before opening the tournament in Cologne on May 5.
Mikael Backlund (Sweden), Michael Frolik (Czech Republic) and Sean Monahan (Canada) were invited to play at the tournament but were unable to accept due to injuries. TJ Brodie (Canada) was also invited but cannot attend due to family engagements.
