Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Players, coaches and management of Team USA arrived throughout the day here in advance of tomorrow’s opening practice in preparation for the World Cup of Hockey 2016. Players will hit the ice at 1 p.m. ET at Nationwide Arena, home of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets.

“It’s great to be in Columbus and we’re excited to get going,” said Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks, a Team USA veteran and the reigning NHL scoring champ.

Members of the Team USA training staff have been in town since Friday unpacking hundreds of of boxes of equipment and supplies and transforming the Columbus Blue Jackets locker room into Team USA’s home base for the next week.

“The Blue Jackets have been terrific from day one,” said Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of USA Hockey and a part of Team USA’s management group. “We’re thrilled to begin our World Cup journey here in Columbus and appreciate the warm welcome from all involved.”

Team USA had a private team reception at its host hotel tonight and players and staff had the option to head to Nationwide Arena to take in the AC/DC concert.

 

The U.S. will practice here daily this week, before facing Canada Friday at Nationwide Arena in its first pre-tournament game. A limited number of tickets remain for the game at the Nationwide Arena box office or online at Ticketmaster.com.

NOTE: Practices on Wednesday (Sept. 7) and Thursday (Sept. 8) will be open to the public and free of charge. Players hit the ice at 11 a.m. both days and practices will be approximately one hour in length.