Strength of team: Forward depth. Team Europe named nine forwards and each of them, except for the injured Hossa, has at least 13 goals and 30 points. Hossa has 10 goals and 28 points this season but has 1,084 points in his 1,226-game NHL career.
Weakness of team: Lack of chemistry. While there are some NHL teammates on here and many have experience playing with their countrymen on their various national teams, this team has no unifying identity or playing style. Those things will have to be developed in a short training camp, which always is a difficult task
Biggest surprise: The initial roster announcement played out according to plan. For most pundits the 16 players named Wednesday were the 16 most obvious candidates to be named.
Biggest omission:Marian Gaborik. The Slovakian forward is injured and will not return to the Los Angeles Kings until right around the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Perhaps Team Europe's management is playing it cautiously and waiting on a health update to name him to this team.
Roster
Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks (Denmark), G
Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders (Slovakia), G
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins (Slovakia), D
Roman Josi, Nashville Predators (Switzerland), D
Dennis Seidenberg, Boston Bruins (Germany), D
Andrej Sekera, Edmonton Oilers (Slovakia), D
Mark Streit, Philadelphia Flyers (Switzerland), D
Mikkel Boedker, Colorado Avalanche (Denmark), F
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (Germany), F
Jannik Hansen, Vancouver Canucks (Denmark), F
Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks (Slovakia), F
Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings (Slovenia), F
Frans Nielsen, New York Islanders (Denmark), F
Tomas Tatar, Detroit Red Wings (Slovakia), F
Thomas Vanek, Minnesota Wild (Austria), F
Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers (Norway), F