It can get a bit confusing, or perhaps redundant.
The International Ice Hockey Federation stages annual World Championships in the spring, and the participating NHL players come from teams that don’t make the playoffs or are eliminated early. Even if available, many big names pass (or aren’t even asked), and it’s understandable. But the Avalanche’s Matt Duchene last week for the second year in a row earned a World Championships gold medal playing for Canada, this time in Russia, and Canada’s backup goaltender was Colorado’s Calvin Pickard.
“It was a younger team,” Duchene, 25, said Friday. “Last year I was one of the youngest guys and this year I was one of the older guys.