Manitoba Moose goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and 2014-15 AHL Goaltender of the Year Matt Murray were among the 16 players named to the initial World Cup of Hockey 2016 roster for Team North America.
Team North America will consist of the top players from Canada and the United States who are 23 or under as of Oct. 1, 2016.
Hellebuyck and Murray are both second-year pros who have been among the elite netminders in the American Hockey League since the start of the 2014-15 season.
Hellebuyck, 22, has a 2.27 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage in 16 AHL appearances with the Moose this season, and he made his NHL debut with the Winnipeg Jets earlier in the year, earning a 13-11-0 record in 26 games.
As a rookie, Hellebuyck shined with the St. John’s IceCaps last season, going 28-22-5 with a 2.58 GAA, a .921 save percentage and six shutouts in 58 games.
Murray, 21, won the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Award as the AHL’s outstanding goaltender as well as the Dudley (Red) Garrett Award as the league’s top rookie in 2014-15, when he went 25-10-3 with a 1.58 GAA, a .941 save percentage and 12 shutouts with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, one of the most prolific seasons by a goalie in league history.
In 2015-16, Murray is 20-9-1 (2.10, .931) in 31 games with the AHL Penguins, and shows a .933 save percentage in five games with Pittsburgh after making his National Hockey League debut this season.
The third goaltender named to Team North America was John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks. Gibson began the 2015-16 with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, going 7-4-1 with a 2.63 GAA and a .917 save percentage in 13 games.
