Team Canada

the Soviet Union

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The World Cup of Hockey is an international ice hockey tournament. Inaugurated in 1996, it is the successor to the Canada Cup, which was held every 3 to 5 years from 1976 to 1991 and was the first international hockey championship to allow nations to field their top players.

Canada

The National Hockey League (NHL) was initially reluctant to allow its players to compete because the Olympics are held in the middle of the NHL season, and the league would have to halt play if many of its players participated.

“After ongoing discussions with the New York Rangers, Hockey Canada has been informed that Alexis Lafreniere will not be released to represent Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton,” said a statement from Hockey Canada on behalf of Scott Salmond, senior vice-president of national teams.

Alexis Lafreniere, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, is one of four players in this year’s draft class who are NHL-ready, according to Craig Button.

Top ranked NHL prospect Alexis Lafreniere is a special, consistent player, who has always dreamed of getting drafted into the NHL, and is such an easy comparison to his idol Sidney Crosby.

Selected first overall by the Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in 2017, he was awarded the QMJHL Rookie of the Year award and was named to the First All-Star team in his rookie season….