WINNIPEG — The Islanders are focused on finishing off the Western Conference portion of their current seven-game road trip in a strong manner on Thursday here against the Jets. But on Wednesday, there was a little distraction for a few Isles to celebrate.
John Tavares (Canada), Nikolay Kulemin (Russia), Frans Nielsen and Jaroslav Halak (Team Europe) were named to the preliminary rosters for the World Cup in September. Tavares was certainly expected to be among the first 16 players named to Canada’s group, but there was some uncertainty with the others.
Nielsen, from Denmark, and Slovakia’s Halak have long represented their countries in international play.