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Hockey

What you might not have known about Team North America

Team North America has quickly become the darling of the World Cup of Hockey tournament. Here are a few things you may not know about the young guns.

Feel comfortable on the bandwagon ahead of Wednesday's game

Connor McDavid is one of 11 Canadians on Team North America, one fewer than there are Americans on the roster. (Andre Ringuette/World Cup of Hockey/Getty Images)

One of the best things to come out of the World Cup of Hockey has beenTeam North America.

They're young, fresh, fast andskilled. Theyare also the stars of the futurewho will represent Canada and America on theinternational stage inyears to come.

Here are some facts to help you know the young guns a little better ahead of Wednesday's pivotal game against Sweden:

Team ... America?

That's right, the 23-and-under team is actually slightly more American with 12 players hailing from south of the Canadian border.

However, it's really close. Of Canada's 11 players, the province of Ontario is most represented withfour (including captain Connor McDavid).

Additionally, centre Sean Couturierwas actually born in Phoenix, Ariz., to Canadian parents, who returned to New Brunswick after Couturier's father's hockey career ended. The 23-year-old chose to represent Canada internationally despite holding dual citizenship, so he's counted towards Canada's total.

We're No. 1!

Team North America is stacked with first-roundersand first-overall draft picks. The 23-man roster boasts five recent top picks in McDavid (2015), Aaron Ekblad (2014), Nathan MacKinnon (2013), Auston Matthews (2016) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2011).


Outside of the No.1 selection, the Millennialstally 16first-round picks, 10 of which came in the top-five of their respective draft year.

Only two players fell outside of the top100 goalie Connor Hellebuyck has the dubious honour of being the lowest NHL pick, going in the fifth round at 130th overall to the Winnipeg Jetsin 2012. Of the skaters, Calgary Flames star Johnny "Hockey"Gaudreauwent in the fourth round (104th overall)in 2011.

Age is just a number

It's well known that Maple Leafs' Matthews is the youngest player on the team, having just turned 19 this past Saturday. However, as much as they've been dubbed "the kids," only three are actually still teenagersMcDavid and Jack Eichelare also only 19.

Elevenplayers arethe maximum age of 23. Had they not pursued hockey as a career, they wouldn't even be college undergraduates anymore.

The oldest is Brandon Saad at 23 years, 10 months and 25days.

Getting paid

Although many of the youngNHLers are still playing on entry-level deals, manyare set to collect big in the coming years.

Ekblad tops the listas he'll make$7.5 million US per season starting2017-18 after signing an eight-year, $60-millionextension with the Florida Panthers over the summer. Players already making the big doughincludeNathan MacKinnon ($6.3M annual average) andScheifele ($6.125M AAV).

Those figures don't take into account several players still in contract negotiations. Winnipeg's Jacob Trouba is still in talks, as is Flames' Gaudreau, who is expected to receive a huge salary increase coming off his entry-level deal.

The biggest bargain on the team? Look no further than Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray, who isNorth America's No.1 netminder and still has one year remaining on his entry-level contract with a$650,833 cap hit next season. Murray led his NHL team to a Stanley Cup victory in June.