Only three months removed from the Stanley Cup Finals, Joe Thornton will shoot for gold with Team Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
The 37-year-old is one of just six players from Canada's 2004 World Cup roster still active in the NHL. That group also includes Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, Patrick Marleau, Jay Bouwmeester, and Roberto Luongo.
Thornton is the lone player who will get a chance at a repeat championship as part of this year's Canadian squad. He was added to the final roster on May 27.
Thornton has donned the red and white on six occasions, winning three gold medals.
In 41 games with Team Canada, "Jumbo Joe" has tallied 12 goals and 21 assists, representing the Great White North at the World Juniors (1997), World Championships (2001, 2005), World Cup (2004), and the Winter Olympics (2006, 2010).
At the 2004 World Cup, Thornton's six points ranked second among all Canadian skaters, and only two points back of tournament leader Fredrik Modin.
"(Thornton's) still one of the best power-play players and in my opinion he's one of the top three passers - if not the best - in the world," Doug Armstrong, general manager of Team Canada, said in June.
The World Cup returns to the hockey stage for the first time since 2004, with the first game set for Sept. 17 in Toronto.
