Once the NHL season is over, players start joining their countries for the IIHF World Championships. For a variety of reasons, Russia never has any issues getting players to play for them. Especially when compared to Team USA, who has to practically beg players to join them. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov will be joining their home country, as Team Russia has announced they’ve been called up.
However, Alex Ovechkin will not be joining them.
The Russian national team’s coaches have decided to call two Washington Capitals players up to the 2017 World Championship roster: defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Evgeny Kuznetsov.