Team Russia's 2016 World Cup of Hockey roster is chock-full of elite NHL playmakers, but the situation with one of their defensemen is already dominating discussion about the roster.
Russia unveils stacked World Cup of Hockey roster as Slava Voynov questions linger
Will Voynov be eligible?
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Russia released its official World Cup roster on Friday, and it includes SKA Saint Petersburg defenseman Slava Voynov. The former Los Angeles Kings player returned to his home country last season after a domestic violence incident forced the NHL to suspend him for a year. That suspension hasn't really been lifted, and considering the NHL is running the World Cup, Voynov's inclusion is in question.
Told that NHLPA and NHL are jointly "reviewing" the matter of Voynov's eligibility to play in World Cup.
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) May 27, 2016
Otherwise, the Russians will bring a talented lineup to Toronto when the World Cup begins on Sept. 17. Alex Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov and Vladimir Tarasenko are all coming off terrific Stanley Cup Playoffs performances. Artemi Panarin might win the Calder Trophy. Throw in former Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky and rising star Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, and you have a surefire tournament favorite.
The notable omissions are KHL stars Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Radulov.
Here's the full roster, via NHL.com:
Forwards
| Player | Pro team |
| Artem Anisimov | Chicago Blackhawks |
| Evgeny Dadonov | SKA St. Petersburg (KHL) |
| Pavel Datsyuk | Detroit Red Wings |
| Nikita Kucherov | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Nikolay Kulemin | New York Islanders |
| Evgeny Kuznetsov | Washington Capitals |
| Evgeni Malkin | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Alex Ovechkin | Washington Capitals |
| Artemi Panarin | Chicago Blackhawks |
| Vadim Shipachyov | SKA Saint Petersburgh (KHL) |
| Ivan Telegin | CSKA Moscow (KHL) |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | St. Louis Blues |
Defensemen
| Player | NHL team |
| Alexei Emelin | Montreal Canadiens |
| Dmitry Kulikov | Florida Panthers |
| Alexey Marchenko | Detroit Red Wings |
| Andrei Markov | Montreal Canadiens |
| Dmitry Orlov | Washington Capitals |
| Slava Voynov | SKA Saint Petersburg |
| Nikita Zaitsev | Toronto Maple Leafs |
Goalies
| Player | NHL team |
| Sergei Bobrovsky | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Semyon Varlamov | Colorado Avalanche |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | Tampa Bay Lightning |
The 2016 World Cup of Hockey takes place from Sept. 17 to Oct. 1 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. ESPN and Sportsnet will televise every game.
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