What if Canada had Two Teams at the World Cup?

I’m not a big fan of the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. Not because I don’t enjoy International hockey, because I love it. I am proudly Canadian and cheering for my country is one of my most favorite things to do. The reason why I don’t care for the format is that it isn’t country against country. The under-23 team, while likely entertaining, defeats the purpose of the tournament. They don’t represent a country, but rather a continent. They don’t have a flag to raise. And the “rest of Europe” team, well, that has to be discouraging for the players who want to compete for their country rather than join forces with rivals. (I’m not sure how to fix that one). But in terms of the North American side, I would like to offer an alternative.

While watching the World Junior “A” challenge, (which I highly recommend), I noted that Canada had two entries in the tournament. One represented the East (Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes) and the other the West (British Columbia and the Prairies). I loved the idea. And it got me thinking. What if Canada split up and brought two teams to the World Cup? I decided to put together rosters for both entries, just for fun.

Canada East

Forwards:

• Sidney Crosby (Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia)
• John Tavares (Mississauga, Ontario)
• Claude Giroux (Hearst, Ontario)
• Steven Stamkos (Markham, Ontario)
• Corey Perry (Peterborough, Ontario)
• Tyler Seguin (Brampton, Ontario)
• Jeff Carter (London, Ontario)
• Matt Duchene (Haliburton, Ontario)
• Connor McDavid (Richmond Hill, Ontario)
• Nathan MacKinnon (Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia)
• Rick Nash (Brampton, Ontario)
• James Neal (Whitby, Ontario)
• Patrice Bergeron (L’Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec)

Defencemen:

• Brent Burns (Barrie, Ontario)
• Drew Doughty (London, Ontario)
• P.K Subban (Toronto, Ontario)
• Aaron Ekblad (Windsor, Ontario)
• Alex Pietrangelo (King City, Ontario)
• Mark Giordano (Toronto, Ontario)
• Kris Letang (Montreal, Quebec)

Goaltenders:

• Marc-Andre Fleury (Sorel, Quebec)
• Corey Crawford (Montreal, Quebec)
• Roberto Luongo (Montreal, Quebec)

Canada West

Forwards:

• Jonathan Toews (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
• Taylor Hall (Calgary, Alberta)
• Jamie Benn (Victoria, BC)
• Ryan Getzlaf (Regina, Saskatchewan)
• Evander Kane (Vancouver, BC)
• Ryan Johansen (Vancouver, BC)
• Brendan Gallagher (Edmonton, Alberta)
• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Burnaby, BC)
• Patrick Sharp (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
• Patrick Marleau (Swift Current, Saskatchewan)
• Kyle Turris (New Westminster, BC)
• Max Domi (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
• Jordan Eberle (Regina, Saskatchewan)

Defencemen:

• Duncan Keith (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
• Shea Weber (Sicamous, BC)
• Brent Seabrook (Richmond, BC)
• Travis Hamonic (St. Malo, Manitoba)
• Jay Bouwmeester (Edmonton, Alberta)
• Tyson Barrie (Victoria, BC)
• Kris Russell (Red Deer, Alberta)

Goalies:

• Carey Price (Vancouver, BC)
• Braden Holtby (Lloydminster, Saskatchewan)
• Martin Jones (Vancouver, BC)

Which roster do you think has the advantage? Would you slot in different players than the ones I listed? Have your say in the comment section below.