World Cup betting players will be waiting to watch the captain of their favorite team (or sports betting pick) lift the trophy next month, and lifting trophies is something that Detroit's Niklas Lidstrom has a lot of experience with. His hunger hasn't died down, which is why Lidstrom ius coming back for his 19 ^th season in "Hockeytown".

Lidstrom has captained the Red Wings since Steve Yzerman retired in 2006, and he's led Detroit to one of the four Stanley Cup rings he has, which came in 2008, and they came up just short in last year's final against Pittsburgh. Lidstrom has won a ridiculous six Norris Trophies, which places him third behind Bobby Orr and Doug Harvey, along with a Conn Smythe in 2002, 11 All-Star nods. Lidstrom was also the first European to captain a Stanley Cup winner, the first European Conn Smythe winner, the first European to win the Norris, and he's played the most games by a European in NHL history…..do we even need to go on?

Lidstrom turned 40 in April, and even though his numbers were down, it's not like he's awful now. His 49 points was tied for seventh among defensemen, he had a +22 rating, and he's still a force on the power play. There isn't one NHL team that wouldn't have Lidstrom in their top defensive pairing, and the young guys could learn a lot from his ability to read the play, which allows him to pick pockets without gambling on the big hit, as well as keeping him out of the penalty box. Even though it was a disappointing end to the season, with Lidstrom at the helm, online sports betting players should expect Detroit to challenge once again next year.