Devils at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey: Open Post

Yesterday, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey began!

Today, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey That Includes New Jersey Devils players begins!

The New Jersey Devils have all of two players involved in the return of the NHL’s international tournament. They are goaltender Cory Schneider, arguably the best New Jersey Devil of the past two (or more) seasons; and forward Kyle Palmieri. Both are on the Team USA roster. It’s unknown how much time either will get to play. A quick look at the squad shows that Palmieri is among a group of talented forwards and Justin Abdelkader. It’s up in the air as to whether head coach John Tortorella will play him, nevermind where. While Schneider has been fantastic for the Devils, the other two goalies for the team are Ben Bishop and Jonathan Quick. This USA Today article by Kevin Allen reports that Tortorella may use all three by the third pre-tournament game before naming a starter. It’s not a guarantee that Schneider will be the one, but he could be. We’ll see.

As a Devils fan, my main interest in this tournament is entertainment and no injuries to Palmieri or Schneider. Both are important to the still re-building roster as Palmieri plays at right wing and Schneider is amazing. Your interest may vary. For those of you who interested in following along, this is an open post where you can freely talk about the tournament, any games within it, and any thoughts about the players within it. All site rules apply, though. Additionally, don’t pick on people who are interested in this tourney if you are not; please move on to a different post. (And I’m sorry for not getting this up a day earlier.) To that end, here’s some general information:

The World Cup of Hockey site has all of eight rosters here and the full schedule here. Here’s a list of the games Palmieri and Schneider may be in. All games are on the ESPN family of networks in the US and Sportsnet’s channels in Canada. All times are Eastern.

• 9/9: Canada @ USA, 7 PM, ESPNU, SN1, SN360, TVAS
• 9/10: USA @ Canada, 7 PM, ESPN3, SN, TVAS
• 9/13: Finland @ USA, 7 PM, ESPN, SN1, TVAS
• 9/17: USA @ Team Europe, 3:30 PM, ESPN2, SN, TVAS
• 9/20: Canada @ USA, 8 PM, ESPN, SN, TVAS
• 9/22: USA @ Czech Republic, 8 PM, ESPN2, SN, TVAS

Note: Yes, all of the games are actually in Canada, the home team designation is for the last change and all that.

Go Palmieri, Schneider, and Team USA - and don’t get hurt. And go eventual Devils. Per Tom Gulitti, the first practice at camp is likely to really begin on the 23rd. So it won’t be long before all of the Devils - including Taylor Hall - get back into action.