Hurricanes well represented in upcoming 2017 IIHF World Championships

Chris Baird, Triangle Sports Network

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes announced on Wednesday that seven players will compete in the 16-team 2017 IIHF World Championship tournament to be played May 5-21 in Paris, France and Cologne, Germany.

Defenseman Noah Hanifin (Boston, Mass.) will suit up for the United States when it opens group play against host Germany at LANXESS Arena in Cologne on May 5.

A product of the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP), Hanifin won gold with Team USA at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and the 2014 U18 World Junior Championship.

His international resume also includes having represented the U.S. at the 2015 World Junior Championship and the 2016 IIHF World Championship.

Forward Sebastian Aho will play for Finland when it opens the tournament against Belarus in Paris on May 5.

Aho previously represented his home country at the 2016 IIHF World Championship and at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Canada opens play against the Czech Republic on May 5 at AccorHotels Arena in Paris and will include Carolina’s leading scorer Jeff Skinner (Markham, Ontario) in the lineup, participating in the tournament for the fourth time in his career.

Four Hurricanes – Victor Rask, Joakim Nordstrom, Elias Lindholm, Eddie Lack – will wear the blue and gold of Sweden at the tournament when it opens play against Russia in Cologne on May 5.

Rask and Nordstrom, teammates on Sweden’s gold-medal-winning team at the 2012 World Junior Championship, will each be making their debuts at the IIHF World Championship.

Lindholm, who won silver medals at the 2012 U18 World Junior Championship as well as the 2013 and 2014 World Junior Championships, will also make his debut with the men’s national team.

Goaltender Eddie Lack will be representing his country for the first time at any level.

Notes on Tournament Format: The 16 teams are divided into two groups for the preliminary round. The top-four ranked teams of each group advance to the quarterfinals that will be played cross-over. The first-place team in each preliminary-round group plays the fourth-place team of the other group, while the second-place team plays the third-place team of the other group (1A-4B, 2A-3B, 1B-4A, 2B-3A). The winning teams advance to the semifinals. Both semi-final games will be played at Lanxess Arena in Cologne. The winning teams of the semifinal games advance to the gold medal game while the semifinal losing teams play for bronze…For all games points shall be awarded as follows: 3 points for the winning team at the conclusion of regulation time;1 point for both teams at the conclusion of regulation time if the game is tied; an additional point earned for the team winning the game in a 5-minute overtime period, or the shootout if the teams are still tied following conclusion of the overtime period; 0 points for the team losing the game in regulation time.