Wild players heading to Russia for world championships
Some of the Minnesota Wild's top players are heading to Russia for the 2016 IIHF World Championships.
The tournament gets underway on May 6, and features 16 teams.
Captain Mikko Koivu and center Mikael Granlund will play for Finland, while defenseman Matt Dumba will play for Canada, forward Jordan Schroeder will play for Team USA and Nino Niederreiter will play for Switzerland.
At this point Koivu and Granlund are old hands on the Finnish national team, and will both compete in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey this fall.
Granlund led Finland to a bronze medal at the 2014 Olympics (Koivu missed Sochi with an injury), while both players competed in the 2010 Olympics, earning another bronze.
Koivu has competed for Finland at the world championships six times (2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013), captaining the team in 2011 and 2012 and medaling four times.
Granlund also has a lengthy international resume, including multiple trips to the world junior championships and three trips to the world championships.
Niederreiter will represent Switzerland for the sixth time following appearances in the Olympics, the world junior championships and the world championships.
Dumba is making his first appearance on the senior team after a successful international career at the junior and U-18 levels, while Schroeder has competed in five international tournaments for the U.S.
