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Dallas Stars Sending Multiple Players To World Championships

By Josh Clark |
Feb 18, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars left wing Patrick Sharp (10) and left wing Antoine Roussel (21) and defenseman John Klingberg (3) and defenseman Esa Lindell (23) celebrate Roussel scoring a hat trick against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Lightning 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 18, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars left wing Patrick Sharp (10) and left wing Antoine Roussel (21) and defenseman John Klingberg (3) and defenseman Esa Lindell (23) celebrate Roussel scoring a hat trick against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Lightning 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The IIHF World Championships are right around the corner and multiple Dallas Stars are looking to get involved in the tournament.

There are a lot of negatives to deal with when your team doesn’t make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. No extra hockey past game 82, no chance at winning the Cup, no playoff atmosphere to take part in. It’s a pretty sucky feeling.

For some players, the season still doesn’t end at game 82 even if they miss the playoffs. But their extension won’t be played on North American soil.

The IIHF World Championships are a yearly occurrence in the hockey world that take place typically throughout the month of May. 16 countries come together for the annual tournament, and each one is allowed to comprise their roster of any players born in their home country with no prior engagements.

So in other words, if a player in the NHL is not in the playoffs, they can play for their home country in the World Championships (if they are invited, of course). Depending on the depth of talent that a specific country has, a player may or may not receive an invite.

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For the Dallas Stars, they could have multiple players packing their bags and heading over to either Cologne, Germany or Paris, France.

John Klingberg (Sweden) and Antoine Roussel (France) have already been confirmed on the rosters of their home countries.

Klingberg will be playing his second stint with Team Sweden in the World Championships, with the other coming after the 2014-15 season when the Dallas Stars fell seven points short of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This will be Roussel’s fifth appearance at the Worlds, and it just so happens that it will be hosted in his home country of France.

And these aren’t the only two that could possibly be working their way into the competition from Big D. Valeri Nichushkin (Russia), Roope Hintz (Finland), and Julius Honka (Finland) are also being considered for their home countries and are currently in tryouts.

In the 2015 tournament, Dallas sent seven representatives (Jason Spezza, Cody Eakin, Tyler Seguin, Antoine Roussel, Jyrki Jokipakka, John Klingberg, and Jhonas Enroth).

This year, there are a few surprises not heading east. Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza, and Jamie Benn are all healthy, yet none of the three were announced as part of Team Canada’s initial 18-man roster. On exit interview day, they all talked about how they had not yet decided on whether or not they would be attending the Championships.

So while this year looks to be a drop-off from 2015, it’s still a chance for a few Dallas Stars to improve their game and stay active throughout the NHL playoff run. The tournament starts on May 5th and will run until May 21.

At least hockey isn’t entirely over for the Dallas Stars.

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