Young NHL star lays down the gauntlet for teams at the World Cup.

For the most part while the players of Team North America have been pretty subdued when asked about their expectations for the World Cup of Hockey, that all changed today.

While players like Connor McDavid expressed a belief that they could upset some teams in the tournament, it was forward Nathan MacKinnon who really threw down the gauntlet today by effectively sending a warning to every other team in the tournament.

"I don't think there's a more skilled team than ours," said MacKinnon as per Postmedi's Michael Traikos. "I'll go against anybody's roster."

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It would honestly be terrific to see a team like the under 23 squad of Team North America throw a major wrench into the expectations for this tournament, and it sounds like they plan to do just that, especially if MacKinnon get's his way.