The season is over for the Avalanche, but the good news is some of the team are not done with hockey just yet. The first round elimination from the NHL playoffs has led to a good thing for some of the guys. Several members of the Avalanche will be representing their respective countries at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship to be held in Germany this year. The championship starts on May 7th and will last a couple weeks until May 23rd.
Representing Team USA will be forward T.J. Galiardi who was born in Canada, but much like his roommate Paul Stastny, has dual-citizenship and elected to play internationally for Team USA. This will mark Galiardi's first appearance for Team USA in international play as he never previously made the team's cut at the junior level. Joining Galiardi for Team USA will be Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco, who will serve as an assistant coach for USA in the IIHF World Championship.
The Avalanche will also have two representatives on Team Canada when the World Championship starts next Friday in Germany. Rookie sensation and Calder Trophy nominee Matt Duchene will be lacing up his skates for his country. Duchene has previously won a medal with the Under-18 Canada team. Joining Duchene on Canada's roster will be speedy Avs defenseman Kyle Cumiskey. This will mark the first team Cumiskey has put on Team Canada's jersey in international play.
In other good news, Matt Duchene will not be the only member of the Avalanche who will be up for an award on June 23rd. When the NHL convenes in Las Vegas to host it's end of the year awards, Duchene will be up for the Calder Trophy as the league's outstanding rookie. Also nominated was head coach Joe Sacco who will be up for the Jack Adams award for the best coach in the league.
The nomination is quite an honor and a nod to Sacco's unexpected success at establishing his young team as a force to be reckoned with in the tough Western Conference. The Avs were not expected to be a playoff contender until much further down the road, but Sacco coached his team full of rookies and mostly under 25 players to the 8th seed. While they were ultimately knocked out by the San Jose Sharks in the first round, the Avs and coach Sacco gave them a run for their money.
Congratulations again to Joe Sacco for his Jack Adams nomination and to Matt Duchene for his Calder nomination. Hopefully they will be bringing home some hardware, but even if they don't, it's nice that they are getting some deserved recognition.
Good luck to the Avs three young stars Matt Duchene, Kyle Cumiskey and T.J. Galiardi who will be skating for their countries in Germany and also to Team USA assistant coach Joe Sacco. The NHL season ended too early for the Avs, but some of the boys will be able to extend their hockey for a little bit longer anyway. It must always be fun to represent their own country in international play too. Go Team USA! Go Team Canada (but mostly go Team USA!).
To learn more about the IIHF and the 2010 Men's World Championship and to follow the action you can visit: www.iihf.com
*All images in this post were taken by me and you must ask permission to use them elsewhere*
