For two weeks, the best hockey players in the world will take center stage in Toronto for the first World Cup of Hockey event in 12 years. The star-studded list includes the likes of Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Evgeni Malkin, just to name a few.

Six members of the Bruins will represent their country in hopes of obtaining a gold medal. Here’s an outlook for those Bruins leading up to the beginning of preliminary play tomorrow at the Air Canada Centre.

Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron (Canada)

The trio of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Sidney Crosby is one of the top Bruins’ storylines entering the World Cup of Hockey. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

Don Sweeney should be watching this very closely if he gets a chance. Assuming that Mike Babcock and his coaching staff, that also includes Claude Julien, doesn’t alter his roster before Canada’s first game against the Czech Republic tomorrow night, the dynamic duo of Marchand and Bergeron will have Sidney Crosby as their linemate.

No, Sweeney will not look at obtaining Crosby because quite frankly he is not going anywhere. But this could give the Bruins GM an idea of trying to obtain a talented winger to skate with Bergeron and Marchand in Boston. Regardless, this has turned into one of the more intriguing storylines from a Boston perspective and will likely give B’s fans a pipedream of imagining a Crosby-Bergeron-Marchand trio.

“It’s been great. Obviously, two very, very good players, very skilled and are dominant in the league,” Marchand told ESPN’s Joe McDonald on skating with Crosby and Bergeron. “They obviously have a lot of chemistry from past years, and obviously me and Bergy have played together for awhile. So, it’s going pretty well early on, but it’s been very fun playing with them and [we’re] trying to improve each day and hopefully we can be able to do that.”

This won’t be the first time that the three-time Selke Award winner will skate with the two-time Hart Trophy recipient. Crosby and Bergeron were linemates as recent as the 2014 Sochi Olympics helping Canada capture their second straight gold.

David Backes (USA)

New Bruin David Backes, seen defending former Bruin Milan Lucic in a November, 2014 game, will represent Team USA at the World Cup of Hockey. (Photo by Joe Makarski: Bruins Daily)

Fresh off signing a 5-year, $30 million contract with the Bruins this off-season, David Backes still hasn’t quite adjusted to his new home. As a matter of fact, he is still looking for a new house in the Boston area according to Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe:

David Backes is still looking for housing in Boston. So if you’re selling…

— Fluto Shinzawa (@GlobeFluto) September 13, 2016

Of course, there’s still time for Backes to get acquainted in the Boston area by the time he returns from Toronto. For now, he’s being slated for fourth line duty with Justin Abdelkader and Dustin Byfuglien. The Americans open play tomorrow versus Team Europe.

Tuukka Rask (Finland)

Tuukka Rask hopes to beat out Pekka Rinne for the spot as Finland’s No. 1 goaltender at the World Cup of Hockey. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

The World Cup hasn’t started yet and Tuukka Rask is already in a middle of a battle with Pekka Rinne to be Finland’s No. 1 netminder. Rask’s start in Finland’s exhibition against Sweeden last week where he allowed five goals didn’t help his cause of solidifying that top goaltender spot. Rinne, on the other hand, looked solid against the USA despite the 3-2 loss in exhibition play earlier this week.

The Finns haven’t named a starter yet for Sunday’s opener against Team North America.

Zdeno Chara (Europe)

Representing Team Europe, Zdeno Chara hopes to help heavy underdogs and pull off an improbable run at the World Cup of Hockey (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

At 39, the Bruins captain will help anchor a European defense that is somewhat in flux. Aside from Roman Josi, Europe’s defense on paper looks slower compared to the rest of the teams in the tournament with veterans like Chara, Mark Streit, Christian Ehrhoff and former Bruin Dennis Seidenberg regressing in their game over the last couple of years.

Certainly, a team full of Europeans (sans Finland, Russia and Sweeden) is an interesting dynamic, much like the 23 and under North American team. Unlike the latter squad, Team Europe will certainly have their hands full as a heavy underdog.

David Pastrnak (Czech Republic)

Having just turned 20, David Pastrnak begins his 2016-17 hockey season by representing the Czechs at the World Cup of Hockey. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

Despite the obstacles surrounding his first two years in the Black and Gold — with injuries and the back and forth trips to Providence — Pastrnak has given Bruins fans a reason for optimism down the road. His latest journey takes him up north where he’ll represent the Czechs in his first professional international experience (IIHF Championships, Olympics and World Cup).

The 20-year-old still has some kinks to work on — like his defensive game — if he wants to make his bright potential a reality. Entering the final year of his entry level deal is a good motivator for any player and Pastrnak will want to make the most of that with a productive 2016-17 campaign. A strong showing at the World Cup would provide a good starting point towards that pay raise.