Ovechkin, Kuznetsov head Russia's World Cup roster
MOSCOW - Washington Capitals forwards Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov head Russia's roster for the World Cup of Hockey.
The Russian Hockey Federation's 16-man roster mixes established names such as Russian Olympic team regulars Pavel Datsyuk and Evgeny Malkin with up-and-comers such as the Tampa Bay Lightning pair of Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov.
Forwards
Artem Anisimov, Chicago Blackhawks
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Nikolay Kulemin, New York Islanders
Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Vladislav Namestnikov, Lightning
Alex Ovechkin, Capitals
Artemi Panarin, Blackhawks
Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues
Defensemen
Dmitry Kulikov, Florida Panthers
Andrei Markov, Montreal Canadiens
Dmitry Orlov, Capitals
Goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets
Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning
Related: World Cup of Hockey roster announcements schedule
Russia had the option to pick players from outside the NHL, but opted not to, coach Oleg Znarok citing the fact that the World Cup will be played on NHL ice, rather than Olympic-size ice.
The cap hit of the 3 goalies, 3 defencemen, and 10 forwards Russia announced for its World Cup of Hockey roster: pic.twitter.com/v8JtEPvhIl
— NHLnumbers (@NHLnumbers) March 2, 2016
Each team must announce 16 players Thursday, with a further seven to be added by June 1.
The World Cup runs from Sept. 17 through Oct. 1, ahead of the NHL preseason.