Ranking the Top 10 Players at the World Cup of Hockey After the Group Stage
The World Cup of Hockey is through the preliminary round and about to enter the semifinals, giving us a chance to review the outstanding performances.
The biggest positives of the tournament have been the new entries, Team North America and Team Europe, while the shocking performance of Team USA remains the largest story as the tournament playoffs begin.
The top performances—not surprisingly—came from just a few teams, and those clubs are the ones moving on to the second level of the competition. Here are the top 10 players at the World Cup of Hockey.
10. Ryan McDonagh, D, Team USA
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What Is His Role? Ryan McDonagh of Team USA played heavy minutes and delivered solid two-way play during the tournament.
What Makes Him Special? McDonagh has a full range of skills and can play in all three disciplines. His mobility and passing ability are strong elements of his game.
His World Cup Of Hockey Performance: He scored two goals—one shorthanded—and was a big part of the Team USA effort. Despite a disappointing overall performance by the team, McDonagh remained a strong and effective player.
9. Mats Zuccarello, RW, Team Europe
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What Is His Role? Mats Zuccarello of Team Europe is charged with creating offense for the upstart Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey. He is a bona fide NHL player and an effective offensive winger.
What Makes Him Special? He is a buzzsaw who drives opposition defenders crazy with his quickness and smarts. He is Norway's greatest hockey export.
His World Cup Of Hockey Performance: Zuccarello posted a goal and two assists during the preliminary round and has been dangerous in every game. Team Europe had little time to gather chemistry and badly needed strong individual performers—and Zuccarello answered the bell.
8. Matt Duchene, LW, Team Canada
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What Is His Role? Matt Duchene of Team Canada is a fantastic offensive player and is charged with posting offense.
What Makes Him Special? Duchene is a fast player, and he has top-end skills to match—making him dangerous every time he touches the puck. His willingness to go to scoring areas also makes him valuable, because those high-octane areas usually involve physical contact.
His World Cup Of Hockey Performance: With four points in three games, Duchene is tied for the lead in total points. His skills and speed have been difficult for opposition defenses and a big part of Canada's arsenal at the World Cup of Hockey.
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7. Sergei Bobrovsky, G, Team Russia
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What Is His Role? Sergei Bobrovsky's role for Team Russia is to stop a lot of shots—32 a game on average during the World Cup of Hockey—and to keep his team close until the offense starts rolling.
What Makes Him Special? Bobrovsky is a quality goalie when healthy, although his save percentage has been going the wrong way for several years in a row. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2013, emblematic of the league's top goaltender.
His World Cup Of Hockey Performance: Team Russia had long periods of ineffective play, with Bobrovsky coming up big time and again. The team's ability to make its way to the semifinal round was aided immensely by his fine play.
6. Connor McDavid, C, Team North America
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What Is His Role? Connor McDavid's role for Team North America was to act as offensive catalyst on a team that had dangerous options on every shift.
What Makes Him Special? McDavid is the fastest hockey player anyone has ever seen and can make plays at speed—making him impossible to defend. There are few limitations on his offensive game.
His World Cup Of Hockey Performance: With three points in three games, McDavid ranked among the top offensive players in the tournament. He also delivered 12 shots—four per game—also one of the top totals in the tournament.
5. Johnny Gaudreau, LW, Team Canada
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What Is His Role? Johnny Gaudreau's role for Team North America was to push for offense and scare opposition with his speed and skill.
What Makes Him Special? Gaudreau is a brilliant offensive player, with speed to burn and exceptional skill and vision. His elusiveness in the offensive zone is breathtaking, and his effectiveness in scoring zones ranks with the best in the NHL.
His World Cup Of Hockey Performance: After scoring two goals and four points in the first portion of the tournament, Gaudreau tied for the lead in total points. He was one of the truly exciting players on a team that came in waves during their its games.
4. Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, Team Russia
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What Is His Role? Vladimir Tarasenko of Team Russia is an expert marksman, and the team relies on him heavily to score goals.
What Makes Him Special? Tarasenko is an elite goal scorer, the most valuable of all players in hockey. He scored 40 goals last season for the St. Louis Blues, an enormous total in today's NHL.
His World Cup Of Hockey Performance: He scored two goals—both of them game-winners—to get Team Russia into the semifinal round. Tarasenko is an emerging talent who is already one of the best scorers in the game.
3. Erik Karlsson, D, Team Sweden
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What Is His Role? Erik Karlsson of Team Sweden is charged with gaining puck possession, moving the puck up the ice efficiently and helping the defense by playing more in the opposition's end.
What Makes Him Special? Karlsson has elite skating and passing skills, and he is a highly creative offensive player. Although not a big man, his defensive positioning is solid, and he can extract the puck from opponents.
His World Cup Of Hockey Performance: Team Sweden has a strong defensive group, and Karlsson is an integral part of the six defenders. His outstanding ability to get the puck into good places—there is no better defenseman in the world at this skill—has been on display for the entire tournament.
2. Jonathan Toews, C, Team Canada
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What Is His Role? Jonathan Toews' role with Team Canada is to center a responsible two-way line that can outscore opponents.
What Makes Him Special? Toews is the ultimate two-way center, a brilliant defensive player and tireless checker. His ability to stifle even outstanding offensive players is legendary.
His World Cup Of Hockey Performance: Toews is tied for the lead in scoring, an unusual spot and reflective of Canada's dominance during the preliminary round. His ability to be a plug-and-play option for any circumstance gives Canada coach Mike Babcock an embarrassment of riches at the center position.
1. Sidney Crosby, C, Team Canada
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What Is His Role? Sidney Crosby is the game's best player, providing the complete skill set for Team Canada. He is among the leading scorers so far in the tournament.
What Makes Him Special? Crosby's gift is his ability to create brilliant offense with little room and no time at all—while also preventing progress with dogged checking and anticipation. He impacts the game in all areas and consistently outscores the best opposition available at even strength—the toughest game state to have an impact.
His World Cup Of Hockey Performance: Team Canada is about precision and pursuing perfection, with Crosby the embodiment of that pursuit. Team Canada is designed to win 2-0, to take away time and space and to stamp out mental mistakes while leaving nothing to chance. Crosby is a perfect fit for such a team.
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