With the Kings failing to reach the post-season, four Kings players have elected to play for their countries in the IIHF World Championships this year.
Ilya Kovalchuk has rejoined the Russian team for his 11th appearance at Worlds. He didn’t go last year, after winning gold with the team at the Olympics in February. Thanks to the wildness of the first round of NHL playoffs, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin are also members of the team.
Adrian Kempe returns to Sweden’s national team. He’s joined this year by his brother, Arizona Coyotes forward Mario Kempe, so we can look forward to off-ice shenanigans from them.