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Three Russians and a Finnish center |
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The World Cup of Hockey is still six months away, but the Tampa Bay Lightning have already nabbed four of the 32 revealed spots, with three Russians selected as part of the preliminary 16 for Team Russia, and Valtteri Filppula selected for Team Finland's group.
Filppula, while on pace for his worst of his three seasons in Tampa Bay (at least from a pure statistical standpoint), has remained a pivotal third-line center for the Bolts this season, and has checked in with a respectable seven goals and 27 points in 63 games this season. And with 144 goals and 384 points in 703 games at the NHL level between Detroit and Tampa Bay in his 11-year career, the 31-year-old centerman ranks 17th all-time among Finnish-born NHL players (third among active Finns).
A native of Vaanta, Finland, Filppula most recently represented his home country at the 2012 World Championships, with four goals and 10 points in 10 games en route to Finland’s fourth-place finish. Filppula also represented the country back at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, where he recorded three goals in six games for a Finland group that ultimately earned the Bronze Medal.
But it’s on the Russian front that the Bolts have found their representation.
Both of the Bolts’ uber-talented forwards, Nikita Kucherov and Vlad Namestnikov, along with goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, were among the elite 16 named to Russia’s preliminary roster. Kucherov and Vasilevskiy were obvious picks for the Russians, but for Namestnikov to earn the spot over some other guys just speaks to the year that the budding top-sixer has had.
And Team Russia could even add another Lightning player, too, depending on how they view defenseman Nikita Nesterov as the tournament draws closer.
While these four are the first to be officially named to a team, they won’t be the last, as the Bolts should have additionally representation with guys like Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman, and Steven Stamkos.
Tampa Bay Lightning Blogger • 
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