VOORHEES, N.J. -- When September rolls around, Flyers fans will be trading in their orange and black gear for some red, white and blue attire.
No, not the United States -- well that, too -- but for the Czech Republic, for which three members of the Flyers will be participating in the World Cup of Hockey.
Jake Voracek, Radko Gudas and Michal Neuvirth are all included in the team’s initial 16-man roster.
“It’s a well-deserved honor for those guys,” head coach Dave Hakstol said. “It’s pretty exciting to be a part of that tournament with the best in the world and the spectacle that that tournament will be for our sport. It’s something those guys can be very proud of and something those guys earned through their performance.”
Gudas was selected for the national team at the 2014 Olympics. He appeared in three games for his homeland, which finished in sixth place.
“It’s going to be something new for me, but I’m excited,” Gudas said. “For me right now it’s a nice thing to know, but the focus has to stay right here [with the Flyers]. It’s exciting to know, but you can’t really think about it too much yet.”
Like Gudas, Voracek made the Olympics roster two years ago when he registered two points. He later served as the national team captain at the World Hockey Championships in 2015.
NHL
Meanwhile, Neuvirth was not chosen for the Olympics two years ago. This time around, though, he is in the midst of a breakthrough season in which he is 16-7-4 with a 2.22 GAA and .927 save percentage. The 27-year-old is one of three goalies on the squad, including Petr Mrazek (Detroit) and Ondrej Pavelec (Winnipeg).
Neuvirth’s last time representing his country was in 2008 at the World Juniors tournament.
Couturier named to Team North America
Team North America is a bit of a strange concept in which anyone 23 or younger from Canada or the United States is eligible. It’s a criteria that lent itself to the initial name of the team, “Young Guns.”
The Flyers will have one young gun, at the very least, on the squad with Sean Couturier being chosen on the preliminary roster.
“There’s a lot of great young players,” Couturier said at his locker prior to discovering his inclusion. “There’s a lot of talent. It might depend on what they’re looking for. I can play a lot of different roles.
“It’s always a great honor to play against the best in the world.”
Couturier has played internationally at the 2015 World Championships and previously in the World Junior tournament.
As for Shayne Gostisbehere, he’ll have to wait to find out his fate. The team selected four defensemen on Wednesday in Aaron Ekblad, Seth Jones, Ryan Murray and Morgan Reilly. Gostisbehere is a heavy favorite for one of the three final spots.
The Florida native has 35 points in 44 games and recently saw his 15-game point streak come to an end.
Giroux left off Team Canada ... for now
In 2014, Claude Giroux was disappointed when he wasn’t selected to play for Canada at the Olympics.
He was hoping the World Cup would be a different story. After the first group of players were released, Giroux once again didn’t see his name on the list despite having the most points (354) in the NHL over the last five seasons.
“It’s something I can’t really control,” Giroux said. “It’s not the end of the world. It’s not the final team, so I’m not going to worry about it too much.”
The pool of forwards are plentiful in Canada with Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Jonathan Toews, Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Getzlaf, Jeff Carter and John Tavares all making the initial squad.
The remaining seven spots for each team will be finalized by June 1.
Evgeny Medvedev has a good shot at making Team Russia while Michael Raffl is a longshot for Team Europe.
Streit has a change of heart
When the news came out that the World Cup of Hockey would not include Switzerland but rather lump all of the European countries into one squad, Mark Streit made it known of his discontent.
He’s had some time now to let it all sink in, and he’s finally grown to support the concept.
"I wasn’t really happy about it, but I talked to a few people about it and I realized it was tough on short notice to get something together to find out [which countries] are the top eight," Streit said. "I changed my mind a little bit. It’s going to be exciting if I get to play for Team Europe. It’s something unique and it’s going to be great for the fans as well.”
Streit had his name chosen on the initial 16-man roster when the 4:30 p.m. deadline came around for the European roster. He calls the opportunity an “honor.”
The defenseman has appeared in four Olympics and 13 Ice Hockey World Championships dating back to 1998.