Johnny Gaudreau will join Team USA at the Worlds

The annual Garbage Bag Day festivities are underway today at the Scotiabank Saddledome, as Calgary Flames players, coaches and management face the media one last time before going their separate ways.

One player that will be continuing his hockey season is sniper Johnny Gaudreau.

Gaudreau has played in a lot of international competitions over the past several years, most often for the United States. He played for USA Hockey at the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, the 2013 World Juniors (winning gold) and the 2014 World Championship. He most recently played for the Team North America 23-and-under super-team at the World Cup of Hockey.

He may end up being the only Flames player headed overseas for the World Championships. Mark Giordano is mulling over joining Team Canada, while Dougie Hamilton (leg laceration) wasn’t asked but might not have been able to go anyway. Among the Flames players invited to the tournament but not going due to injuries are Michael Frolik (Czech Republic, wrist), Sean Monahan (Canada, wrist) and Mikael Backlund (Sweden, back). T.J. Brodie declined Team Canada’s invite due to family reasons.

The World Championships begin May 5, with games played in Paris, Francis and Cologne, Germany.