The World Cup of Hockey will take place from Sept. 17 through Oct. 1 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto and it will air live on ESPN and ESPN2. Each team will include 23 players – 20 skaters and three goaltenders.

But what would happen if Minnesota pitted its best against the rest of the world?

Would we stand a chance? We think so. After all, nine Minnesotans were selected to Team USA’s final roster.

For the fun of it, let’s take a look at what a roster full of Minnesotans might look like:

*Players selected to Team USA’s final roster

The blue line continues to be a strength for the State of Hockey, which would give Minnesota flexibility to find the right pairings and matchups, but would also force us some tough decisions. One of those tough decisions would be whether to take advantage of the depth at defense and move Byfuglien, who made Team USA as a defenseman, up front to provide additional scoring. Either way, good mobility, puck movement and offensive capabilities would give Team Minnesota a solid foundation to work from. We’d put this defensive group up against any other country.

Team Minnesota’s forward group boasts a nice mixture of grizzled veterans and rising stars. Having more than four natural centermen on the roster would give us more versatility with line combinations and added stability in the faceoff circle. Plenty of scoring and playmaking ability complemented with lots of speed and character. 

What Team Minnesota may lack in goaltending experience, they make up for in promise. The steady Stalock has plenty of NHL games under his belt, while McIntyre and Lyon are both coming off stellar college careers with fresh NHL contracts and high hopes. All three are looking to prove themselves and all three have game-stealing ability, which would make for a very intense competition between the pipes.

Who would be on your All-Minnesota World Cup of Hockey roster? What line combos would you want to see in action?

Tweet us at @MinnHockey using #TeamMinnesota.