Notable Penguins Not Taking Part in World Championship

There are plenty of Pittsburgh Penguins representing countries at the World Championship, but what about who isn't participating?

The 2023 IIHF World Championship is set to get underway and there are numerous faces from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization representing their home countries.

Penguins like Casey DeSmith and Drew O’Connor will be led by captain Nick Bonino for Team USA; P.O. Joseph is representing Team Canada; Alex Nylander will dawn the Tre Kroner for Team Sweden; and AHLer Justin Addamo will be a feature of Team France.

While that’s plenty of names for fans to keep an eye on, there are a few notable faces that will not head to Finland/Latvia for this years’ tournament.

Obviously Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang are popular names not taking part, but the third head of the core, Evgeni Malkin is also absent.

Malkin’s absence falls at the hands of Russia still being banned from much of international play across all of sports.

According to the IIHF, the next ‘reevaluation’ of the Russian ban will come in March of 2024.

Mikael Granlund didn’t impress during his time with the Penguins, but he has been a common figure with Team Finland.

In international play, Granlund has taken home multiple medals, including two golds at the World Championship.

Granlund played a huge role in the 2022 gold medal victory, scoring two goals in the third period and assisting on the overtime winner over Canada.

Jake Guentzel stated during locker cleanout that he intended on joining Team USA, but he was a notable absence when the lineup was announced.

Team USA will be without Guentzel as a precaution due to an injury.

Rickard Rakell and Marcus Pettersson will not join Nylander on Team Sweden, despite both posting fantastic seasons.

Pettersson participated in the tournament last season, and Rakell stated during cleanout day that he won’t take part to deal with some ‘minor things.’

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