Projected World Cup roster for 23-and-under team

To fill out the eight-team field, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey will use a team made up of players of North Americans who are 23 and under on Sept. 1, 2016. Who could be on that team.

Centers: Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), Ryan Strome (New York Islanders), Sean Monahan (Calgary Flames), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers), Alex Galchenyuk (Montreal Canadiens) and Sean Couturier (Philadelphia Flyers).

Left wings: Brandon Saad (Chicago Blackhawks), Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida Panthers), Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames) and Matt Nieto (San Jose Sharks).

Right wing: Mark Scheifele (Winnipeg Jets), Curtis Lazar (Ottawa Senators), Tom Wilson (Washington) , Jonathan Drouin (Tampa Bay Lightning).

Defensemen: Aaron Ekblad (Florida Panthers), Seth Jones (Nashville Predators), Jacob Trouba (Winnipeg Jets), Dougie Hamilton (Boston Bruins), Morgan Reilly (Toronto Maple Leafs), Connor Murphy (Arizona Coyotes), Cody Ceci (Ottawa Senators) and Ryan Murray (Columbus Blue Jackets)

Goalies: John Gibson (Anaheim Ducks), Malcom Subban (Boston Bruins) and Zachary Fucale (Montreal Canadiens).

Summary: Most of the top young players are centers, meaning some of them will likely play on the wing. Because there were openings, we already have Scheifele as moving to right wing. The under-23 defense will be talented, and there are others out there, such as Matt Dumba (Minnesota Wild) who could make this squad. There are also others who aren't yet in the NHL yet who could make this team, such as Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Max Domi, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Riley Barber, etc.