Wednesday morning, Team Russia announced the first 16 players on its World Cup of Hockey roster. Among those first 16 were three Capitals players: Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Dmitry Orlov.

This is the first World Cup of Hockey in 12 years. The last WCH was in 2004 and was won by Canada. Unlike the IIHF World Championships, the World Cup of Hockey is organized by the NHL, with NHL rules, and is timed to not overlap with the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

From the NHL:

TORONTO — The Russian Ice Hockey Federation announced today the first 16 players named to its roster for the World Cup of Hockey 2016, the best-on-best international hockey championship from Sept. 17 to Oct. 1, 2016, in Toronto.

Named to Team Russia are:

G Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets

G Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche

G Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

D Dmitry Kulikov, Florida Panthers

D Andrei Markov, Montreal Canadiens

D Dmitry Orlov, Washington Capitals

F Artem Anisimov, Chicago Blackhawks

F Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

F Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

F Nikolay Kulemin, New York Islanders

F Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals

F Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins

F Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning

F Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

F Artemi Panarin, Chicago Blackhawks

F Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues

Eight teams — Team Canada, Team Czech Republic, Team Finland, Team Russia, Team Sweden, Team USA, Team Europe and Team North America — will compete in the two-week tournament, featuring more than 150 of the best players in the NHL. All tournament games will be played at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, home of the NHL Toronto Maple Leafs.

All eight teams competing in the World Cup of Hockey 2016 are announcing their rosters of at least 16 players today. The announcement schedule for remaining teams (all times Eastern):

Team Finland: 4 a.m.

Team Czech Republic: 11 a.m.

Team Sweden: 1:15 p.m.

Team Europe: 4:30 p.m.

Team North America: 5:15 p.m.

Team Canada: 6:05 p.m.