With the Red Wings season set to end soon, there is still plenty to look forward to this off-season. One being the 2018 IIHF world championships, which will take place from May 4th to May 20th. Usually this tournament starts near the end of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so teams already eliminated will get a chance to send their players to compete. Last year, we saw Dylan Larkin emerge as a star recording ten points in eight games, and finish twelfth in scoring. Hopefully this year we get more breakout stars, but first, we need to know who will be fighting for gold this spring. These are the most likely to be heading to Denmark (Remember some players choose to sit out of this tournament after long seasons, so keep that in mind):

The only player I could see making the Team Canada roster is Anthony Mantha. Nearing a twenty-five goal season, he now has a good enough pedigree to be in consideration. I don’t want to say he is a lock to make the team, but I also wouldn’t say he is a long shot. As for the other Canadian-born players in Andreas Athanasiou and Tyler Bertuzzi, I’d say are long shots, considering how well Hockey Canada has been producing talent. If Mantha does crack the team, he could be this year’s version of Dylan Larkin, where he breaks out into true stardom.

This is where it gets interesting, because we should be getting a mix of Red Wings and Griffins (If GR is eliminated). Starting with the NHL, Martin Frk should be able to nail down a roster spot. The Czechs lack NHL talent up-front, with their only true superstars in Jakub Vorachek and David Pastrnak looking to go on long playoff runs. Frk wasn’t on the team last year due to his Calder Cup run with the Griffins, but I’m assuming he would have made the team. Now looking to the Griffins, two names on their blue-line could make the team. Libor Sulak should be a lock, considering he was on the team last year and followed it up with a historic season in Finland. Filip Hronek could be a dark horse to make the team due to the Czech blue-line being in desperate need of puck-movers. My guess, is he will be watching on T.V. instead, but I wouldn’t deny it being a possibility.

Easily the greatest Danish-born player ever, I can’t see Frans Nielsen not participating this year. The NHL lacks Danish-born talent, only having a handful of them, so a roster spot will be open to him. Being on the wrong side of the thirty, it’s possible to see Nielsen wanting to get some rest this off-season, but I don’t believe he will take that road for this reason: One of the venues hosting the event is in Herning, Denmark – Nielsen’s hometown. If he does decide to play, I would be shocked if he didn’t get the captaincy. The video below is Nielsen discussing his journey to the NHL from Herning:

Representing Detroit for Team Russia, Pavel Dat… Wait a second…. Why do you do this to me Elliotte?

Sweden may be the favorites to win this year, so it will be a challenge to make the team for any Red Wing. Nik Kronwall is a straight up no. Henrik Zetterberg will most likely want to sit the tournament out, but they could offer him a smaller role to provide some leadership. I think he goes with the former. Gustav Nyquist has the best chance, and with a twenty goal season under his belt, I can see him making the cut.

Team U.S.A. is hard to make a prediction on, as it depends heavily on who the coach is. Last year, Jeff Blashill was the head coach, and he opted to bring Danny DeKeyser to play, in somewhat of a surprising fashion. If Blashill is the coach again, I’d expect to see DeKeyser, Larkin, and Jimmy Howard return, and possibly Justin Abdelkader. Other options at head coach include John Tortorella and John Hynes. If one of these two are available, there is a pretty good chance they get the nod over Blashill (Which would be the right choice). Although, I do believe Blashill will be included on their staff. Assuming Tortorella is coach, Abdelkader is definitely a possibility, as Torts loves his style of play, which is evident by his selection to play Abby in the World Cup of Hockey. As for Hynes, I doubt he elects to go with Abby, as he likes to play a fast pace style. DeKeyser could be candidate for both of them, but no guarantee. Larkin should make the team, no matter who the coach is. Howard is iffy, with goaltenders like John Gibson, Cory Schneider, Jonathan Quick, and Connor Hellebuyuk all having a chance at playoff runs. If two of these net-minders aren’t available Howard could make it as the third string.