Sixteen-Nation Tournament Begins Saturday in Austria

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. Swedens Niklas Kronwall headlines a list of seven former Grand Rapids Griffins chosen by their native countries to participate in the 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship, which will take place April 30-May 15 in Austria.

Kronwall, who earlier this month won the American Hockey Leagues Eddie Shore Award as its outstanding defenseman for the 2004-05 season, will make his second appearance at the World Championship in three years. At the 2003 tournament in Finland, he helped Sweden claim the silver medal.

Other Griffins alumni taking part in the World Championship include three-time NHL All-Star Pavol Demitra (Slovakia) and 2004 Stanley Cup champion Dmitry Afanasenkov (Russia), as well as Julien Vauclair (Switzerland), Andrei Sryubko (Ukraine), Konstantin Shafranov (Kazakhstan) and Aigars Cipruss (Latvia).

The schedule for the tournament is as follows:

Preliminary Round - April 30-May 5
Qualifying Round - May 6-10
Quarterfinals - May 12
Semifinals - May 14
Bronze Medal Game - May 15
Gold Medal Game - May 15

For more information about the 2005 IIHF World Championship, visit ihwc.net.