The 2009 World Hockey Championships will be taking place this year in the host country of Switzerland in the summer of 2009 in the cities of Berne and Zurich. This year’s Team Canada’s roster for the World Hockey Championships is composed of a very young but talented group of players, with a very young average age. Look for Steve Stamkos, Drew Doughty and Luke Schenn to contribute in Switzerland.

The 2009 Team Canada World Hockey Championship roster was picked by Team Canadian advisors and will be coached by Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabers. The Canadian World Championships roster is loaded with talent, including stars Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, and Martin St. Louis. The World Hockey Championships begin on April 24th and Team Canada may be adding more players to the roster before the World Hockey Championship begins. Also, check out the 2009 United States World Hockey Championship roster.

Team Canada 2009 World Hockey Championships Roster

Canada Goaltender
Dwayne Roloson
Josh Harding

Canada Defense
Dan Hamuis
Drew Doughty
Chris Phillips
Luke Schenn
Shea Weber
Ian White

Canada Forwards
Scottie Upshall
Derek Roy
Shawn Horcoff
Mike Fisher
Dany Heatley
Steve Stamkos
Matthew Lombardi
Shane Doan
Colby Armstrong
Martin St. Louis
James Neal
Jason Spezza

Canada Coach
Lindy Ruff

The NHL and European leagues do not currently have a Transfer Agreement since the accord has recently expired.  It is being reported that the European leagues want more than the $200,000 that was previously agreed upon as a buyout amount if a contract player is removed from another country’s league.

The group is also working on bringing back a World Cup of Hockey in 2012 in an undetermined location.  In the end, the two groups decided that it would be better to respect each league’s contracts, and instead of fighting over players, each league will work to further the game of hockey across the world.

Lecavalier is worth the money and is the franchise leader in every offensive category.  He has won one Stanley Cup with the Lightning, but was one of the few bright spots during a lousy season last year.  With a new coach this year and not a lot of help aside from St. Louis and Prospal (Stamkos is unreliable at this point) and a new coach, the Lightning seem destined to have another weak season next year.  The contract is expected to be announced on July 1^st.

I will be providing updates on the 2008 NHL Entry Draft from Ottawa. This year’s draft pool is deep with talent, and most of the talent this year comes from top-end defenseman and smaller speedy forwards. A number of trade rumors are flying around on draft day, so any trades that go down will be documented here as well. Trades so far, Cammalleri traded to the Flames for the 17th pick, Kings trade 17th and 28th pick for Ducks 12th. Jokinen trade to Coyotes for Boynton, Ballard and 2nd round pick. Maple Leafs trade the 7th overall pick and conditional picks to the New York Islanders for the 5th overall pick. RJ Umberger was traded to the Blue Jackets with a 4th round pick, the Flyers received the Jackets 19th overall pick and a 3rd round pick. The Canadians traded for Tanguay and sent the Flames the 25th overall pick.

2008 Entry Level NHL Draft Picks

1. Tampa Bay Lightning – Steve Stamkos, Forward, Sarnia Sting
2. Los Angeles Kings – Drew Doughty, defense, Guelph Storm
3. Atlanta Thrashers – Zach Bogosian, defense, Peterborough Petes
4. St. Louis Blues – Alex Pietrangelo, defense, Niagara Ice Dogs
5. Toronto Maple Leafs (from Islanders) – Luke Schenn, defense, Kelowna Rockets
6. Columbus Blue Jackets – Nikita Filatov, forward, CSKA Moscow
7. Nashville Predators (from Islanders) – Colin Wilson, forward, Boston University
8. Phoenix Coyotes –Mikkel Boedker, foward, Kitchener Rangers
9. New York Islanders (from Predators) – Josh Bailey, forward, Windsor Spitfires
10. Vancouver Canucks – Cody Hodgson, forward, Brampton Battalion
11. Chicago Blackhawks – Kyle Beach, forward, Everett Silver Tips
12. Buffalo Sabres (from Sabres) – Tyler Myers, defense, Kelowna Rockers
13. Los Angeles Kings– Colten Teubert, defense, Regina Pats
14. Carolina Hurricanes– Zac Boychuk, forward, Lethbridge Hurricanes
15. Ottawa Senators (from Predators) – Erik Karlsson, forward, Vastra Frolunda
16. Boston Bruins– Joe Colborne, forward, Camrose
17. Anaheim Ducks (from Kings after Flames Trade) – Jake Gardiner, defense, Minnetonka
18. Nashville Predators (from Senators) – Chet Pickard, goalie, Tri-City Americans
19. Philadelphia Flyers (from Blue Jackets) – Luca Sbisa, defense, Lethbridge Hurricanes
20. New York Rangers – Michael Del Zotto, defense, Oshawa Generals
21. Washington Capitals (from Devils) – Anton Gustafsson, forward, Frolunda
22. Edmonton Oilers – Jordan Eberle, forward, Regina Pats
23. Minnesota Wild (from Devils) – Tyler Cuma, defense, Ottawa 67’s
24. New Jersey Devils (from Wild) – Mattias Tedenby, forward, HV-71
25. Calgary Flames (from Canadians) – Greg Nemiscz, forward, Windsor Spitfires
26. Buffalo Sabres – Tyler Ennis, forward, Medicine Hat Tigers
27. Philadelphia Flyers – John Carlson, defense, Indiana (USHL)
28. Phoenix Coyotes (from Ducks) – Viktor Tikhonov, forward, Cherepovets
29. Atlanta Thrashers – Daultan Leveille, forward, St. Catherines
30. Detroit Red Wings – Thomas McCollum, goalie, Guelph Storm

1. Tampa Bay Lightning – Steve Stamkos
2. Los Angeles Kings – Drew Doughty
3. Atlanta Thrashers – Zach Bogosian
4. St. Louis Blues – Alex Pietrangelo
5. New York Islanders – Nikita Filatov
6. Columbus Blue Jackets – Luke Schenn
7. Toronto Maple Leafs – Tyler Myers
8. Phoenix Coyotes – Cody Hodgson
9. Nashville Predators – Mikkel Boedker
10. Vancouver Canucks – Kyle Beach
11. Chicago Blackhawks – Colin Wilson
12. Anaheim Ducks – Michael Del Zotto
13. Buffalo Sabers – Colten Teubert
14. Carolina Hurricanes – Josh Bailey
15. Nashville Predators – Zach Boychuk
16. Boston Bruins – Kirill Petrov
17. Calgary Flames – Jordan Eberle
18. Ottawa Senators – Thomas McCollum
19. Columbus Blue Jackets – Evgeny Grachev
20. New York Rangers – Colby Rodak
21. New Jersey Devils – Mattias Tedenby
22. Edmonton Oilers – Jakob Markstrom
23. Washington Capitals – Harri Sateri
24. Minnesota Wild – Corey Trivino
25. Montreal Canadians – Jared Staal
26. Buffalo Sabers – Chet Pickard
27. Philadelphia Flyers – Greg Nemisz
28. Los Angeles Kings – Victor Tikhonov
29. Atlanta Thrashers – Luca Sbisa
30. Detroit Red Wings – Joe Colborne

Now that Crawford has been fired, the hockey rumors will begin for who the next King’s coach will be. In fact, many king’s fans are speculating that Lombardi fired Crawford because there is another coach available that fits Lombardi’s plans. Early speculation is that the King’s are interested in John Tortarella. Tortarella was recently fired from the Lightning, but does have a Stanley Cup under his belt. Stay tuned to developments on the King’s coaching situation by subscribing to the Ultimate Hockey Warrior.

Hasek is 43 years old and still has a lot of game, but injuries over the last couple of seasons have limited his play.  This year he was the starting goalie heading into the playoffs, but ended up playing just 4 games against the Predators before he was replaced after a bad game against Nashville. 

Hasek’s career began with the Blackhawks where he played for one season.  He then moved to Buffalo where he played his best hockey of his career.  After Buffalo he went to Detroit where he won his first Stanley Cup.  He then went to Ottawa for a year where he put up great numbers, but the team faltered in the playoffs.  He completed his career in Detroit with one final Stanley Cup this year.  Hasek will definitely be up on the Hall of Fame ballot in a few years.