WJC: 2024 Team USA Roster Talk

[Bonin21]

Forward unit looks like it will be the BC/UM/UMN show.

 

[Cowumbus]

Long time lurker. Figured I’d give posting a shot as I’m really excited about how good this team can be and wanted to get my thoughts on how it could look out there

Welcome!

Leonard-Cooley-Snuggerud

Mcrgoarty-Gauthier-Smith

Howard-Nazar-Brindley

Moore-Stramel-Kaplan

Lucius

Looks great. 23 team could have used Nazar. I think Musty makes it though.

Hutson-Chesley

Dorrington-Casey

Strathmann-Brzustewicz

Rinzel

I think Rinzel plays over one of those two bottom pair guys.

Extras: Lund, Fischer

Yes plz

Augustine

Fowler

Oke

Assuming everyone is back, this forward group should be loaded. I really like the idea of running all of Cooley, Gauthier, and Nazar down the middle. That kind of center depth is rare for even Canada. Splitting Leonard and Smith makes sense to me if they play Gauthier at center as it gives Cooley and Snuggerud a linemate that should mesh well with them and keeps a high end playmaker on Gauthier’s line. Third line (if you can even call it that) was very good at the U18s and should remain together. Moore and Stramel were easy picks for the 4th line and Kaplan makes it as he fits a depth role the best. Lund and Lucius get the nods in the extra spots due to their impressive freshman seasons.

Defense isn’t quite as star studded but is still a very good group. Hutson and Casey should be elite players at this age group, and Chesley is a very steady and calming presence. Dorrington fits well as a foil to Casey, while Strathmann and Brzustewicz could be the best third pairing at the tournament and will be very good in transition. Rinzel has elite tools but is still very raw and probably can’t be counted on to be an impact player, even as a 19 year old. Don’t know a ton about the other defenseman so I went with Fischer as others have picked him and he’s eligible still in 2025



Goalies are straight forward. It’s Augustines net for the next two tournaments and Oke is a returner. I’m expecting big things from Fowler as BC’s #1 next season so he gets the nod

Agree with most of what you say, no reason why the US shouldn’t do well. On paper they look to have the best team.

 

[Bonin21]

If Cooley isn't available, bring one of the kids (Eiserman or Hagens)

 

[William H Bonney]

I wouldn't be surprised if one of Cooley and Gauthier, if not both, sign NHL contracts. Their NHL teams are bad, so many NHL teams love to rush prospects for a variety of reasons, and they could both play in the NHL next year. And Cooley has no ties to Minnesota or the Gophers and Gauthier has none with Massachusetts and the Eagles, which can make it easier to leave than say it would be for a guy like Snuggerud who's a Minnesota kid and Gopher legacy playing for the same program his dad and grandfather played for.

One thing going for Cooley and Snuggerud sticking around is Minnesota is one of the top NCAA teams right now, with the potential to be a top team again next season, so the draw to come back and compete for both WJC and NCAA championships (assuming Minnesota doesn't win this season) will be huge. Boston College isn't nearly as good as Minnesota this season but they have an excellent recruiting class coming in next season (including the NTDP U18 top line and goalie Jacob Fowler) and they're trending upward, so they could see a big jump next season.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think Cooley or Gauthier should go pro. I think most prospects are rushed. And even if they did sign, it's possible they'd still be available. Cooley would benefit from another year of physical maturation, improving his shot, and focusing on improving his two biggest flaws (tendency to over-handle the puck and chase low-probability plays). Gauthier would benefit from more development time playing center while focusing on his creativity and vision, as he has a habit of falling into tunnel vision.

Outside of the real NHL threats for Cooley, Gauthier, and Snuggerud, my other primary concerns for the team are:

1. Goalie. Augustine should be a lot better next year. An extra year of development and maturation is huge; it's extremely difficult to be good as a 17-year-old goalie in a 19-year-old tournament. Hell, it's not easy to do at 18, but he should be in a much better position to succeed in the 2024 tournament. But I am a bit worried about his tendency to perform his worst in high-pressure games. It happened in the U18s and now again in the U20s. To be fair, he was an underager and double-underager respectively, and it's a small sample size, but it's something worth watching. If he similarly struggles when the pressure is on in the upcoming U18s with his own birth year, my worry level will go up quite a bit.

2. LHD. Not that we don't have good options - we do and they're more varied options than we had this year - we don't have a long list of options. Interestingly enough, our list of RHD options for the 2024 team is long. I think we have the possibility to have a really strong and nicely structured / balanced defensive unit on the 2024 team. But if some of our LHD options regress or get injured, we could be in a similar situation as we were with RHD on the 2023 team - relying on 18-year-olds or having to choose players too similar to others on the team.

 

[SK94]

USA has a pretty easy group next year. Czechs, Slovakia, Switzerland and Norway. Problem with 04s is that these days you never know who is going to get an early chance in the NHL. Some years ago I would have said that maybe Cooley is going to be with Cotoyes, but now I think that there could be more. This could be a problem because next year should be ours. I would be also pretty bummed if Eiserman and Hagens are not able to earn their spot. Especially Eiserman because it is his draft year. Potential top pick should be there in a good role.

I think that Augustine and Fowler are going to be the goalies. I am not still so sure about Oke and he need to step up next year if he want to keep Fowler behind him. Tyler Muszelik and Christian Manz are probably going to be in the mix.

Trey Augustine
Jacob Fowler

Lane Hutson - Seamus Casey
Gavin McCarthy - Ryan Chesley
Andrew Strathmann - Sam Rinzel
Tyler Duke - Hunter Brzustewicz

Isaac Howard- Logan Cooley - Jimmy Snuggerud
Cole Eiserman - Cutter Gauthier - Frank Nazar
Rutger McGroarty - Will Smith - Gavin Brindley
Oliver Moore - Charlie Stramel - Ryan Leonard
Hagens/Perreault

There is a lot of forwards who can make a big push next year but it is going to be a difficult task to be in this team.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

I think this team should be the favourite for next year - especially if Cooley plays.

Speaking of Cooley - if he plays will he beat Zegras’ record?

 

[Joe Zanussi]

The pool draw giveth and taketh away. Could lead to a nasty quarterfinal.

Sorry so negative. Jesus I need to take a few days off.

 

[William H Bonney]

USA has a pretty easy group next year. Czechs, Slovakia, Switzerland and Norway. Problem with 04s is that these days you never know who is going to get an early chance in the NHL.

While I agree the US should be the favorite to take the #1 seed in the group (assuming we don't lose a ton of guys), don't sleep on Slovakia. They can return 15 guys from their team this year. They lose Libor Nemec but pretty much would have all their other key players back and a year older, although Simon Nemec would be an NHL risk. The Czechs only have 6 players eligible to turn, losing some of the main guys who carried them (Suchanek, Jiricek, Spacek, Svozil, etc.) in this tournament. I don't know a ton about the quality and depth of their potential additions, but they should have some nice pieces to add like Michael Hrabal in goal, and they will have a nice core of forwards to build around in Kulich, Sapovaliv, and Sale.

 

[FinnishCoyote]

I think this team should be the favourite for next year - especially if Cooley plays.

Speaking of Cooley - if he plays will he beat Zegras’ record?

Snuggerud and Cooley were already arguably the best duo in this years tournament. If both are back next year, i'd be a little disappointed if he didn't break the record

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

USA has a pretty easy group next year. Czechs, Slovakia, Switzerland and Norway. Problem with 04s is that these days you never know who is going to get an early chance in the NHL. Some years ago I would have said that maybe Cooley is going to be with Cotoyes, but now I think that there could be more. This could be a problem because next year should be ours. I would be also pretty bummed if Eiserman and Hagens are not able to earn their spot. Especially Eiserman because it is his draft year. Potential top pick should be there in a good role.

I think that Augustine and Fowler are going to be the goalies. I am not still so sure about Oke and he need to step up next year if he want to keep Fowler behind him. Tyler Muszelik and Christian Manz are probably going to be in the mix.

Trey Augustine
Jacob Fowler

Lane Hutson - Seamus Casey
Gavin McCarthy - Ryan Chesley
Andrew Strathmann - Sam Rinzel
Tyler Duke - Hunter Brzustewicz

Isaac Howard- Logan Cooley - Jimmy Snuggerud
Cole Eiserman - Cutter Gauthier - Frank Nazar
Rutger McGroarty - Will Smith - Gavin Brindley
Oliver Moore - Charlie Stramel - Ryan Leonard
Hagens/Perreault

There is a lot of forwards who can make a big push next year but it is going to be a difficult task to be in this team.

Jeez, 13 first rounders/likely first rounders in that forward group. They'll probably cut a few to get some role guys in there, but that's a hell of a bunch.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

You have to think both Eiserman and Hagens make this team - or at very least given strong consideration, USAHockey loves to give their next generation of stars consideration as underagers.

 

[canuck2010]

I don't think there is any question that the USA should be favoured next year. Of course a lot can change over the next so many months.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Long time lurker. Figured I’d give posting a shot as I’m really excited about how good this team can be and wanted to get my thoughts on how it could look out there



Augustine

Fowler

Oke



Assuming everyone is back, this forward group should be loaded. I really like the idea of running all of Cooley, Gauthier, and Nazar down the middle. That kind of center depth is rare for even Canada. Splitting Leonard and Smith makes sense to me if they play Gauthier at center as it gives Cooley and Snuggerud a linemate that should mesh well with them and keeps a high end playmaker on Gauthier’s line. Third line (if you can even call it that) was very good at the U18s and should remain together. Moore and Stramel were easy picks for the 4th line and Kaplan makes it as he fits a depth role the best. Lund and Lucius get the nods in the extra spots due to their impressive freshman seasons.



Defense isn’t quite as star studded but is still a very good group. Hutson and Casey should be elite players at this age group, and Chesley is a very steady and calming presence. Dorrington fits well as a foil to Casey, while Strathmann and Brzustewicz could be the best third pairing at the tournament and will be very good in transition. Rinzel has elite tools but is still very raw and probably can’t be counted on to be an impact player, even as a 19 year old. Don’t know a ton about the other defenseman so I went with Fischer as others have picked him and he’s eligible still in 2025



Goalies are straight forward. It’s Augustines net for the next two tournaments and Oke is a returner. I’m expecting big things from Fowler as BC’s #1 next season so he gets the nod

Obviously two weeks is a small sample size - and the defense corps certainly left something to be desired - but given the performance this year what makes the net Augustine's for the next two years?

And are there any outliers (Spicer, Arthur Smith) who merit a look in Plymouth this summer?

 

[SK94]

Obviously two weeks is a small sample size - and the defense corps certainly left something to be desired - but given the performance this year what makes the net Augustine's for the next two years?

And are there any outliers (Spicer, Arthur Smith) who merit a look in Plymouth this summer?

Couple bad games as 17-year old doesn't mean that he is not the best bet at the moment from that age group. Right now I would say that Spicer wouldn't be at the summer camp but that may change during the second half of the season. Arthur Smith needs to prove himself at higher level first.

 

[Statsy]

Obviously two weeks is a small sample size - and the defense corps certainly left something to be desired - but given the performance this year what makes the net Augustine's for the next two years?

And are there any outliers (Spicer, Arthur Smith) who merit a look in Plymouth this summer?

He merely has the inside track, but anybody they bring to camp will have the opportunity to win the starting job if they play well enough. Experience in this tournament is valuable though, and countless times we've seen players that struggled one year, come back and put up impressive numbers the next (not that I think Augustine even struggled that much, I thought he played mostly quite well).

 

[Jaykay]

Dang, I was finally beaten to the punch this year, here's what I had written down for 2024 as of a week ago:

Rutger McGroarty-Cutter Gauthier-Jimmy Snuggerud
Gabe Perreault-Will Smith-Ryan Leonard
Isaac Howard-Charlie Stramel-Frank Nazar
Oliver Moore-Cam Lund-Gavin Brindley
Quentin Musty, Cole Eiserman

Others: Cruz Lucius, William Whitelaw, Devin Kaplan, James Hagens

Lane Hutson-Ryan Chesley
Seamus Casey-Sam Rinzel
Jackson Dorrington-Charlie Leddy
Hunter Brzustewicz

Others: Ryan Healey, Tyler Duke, Garrett Brown, Paul Fischer, Michael Fisher, Aram Minnetian

Trey Augustine
Andrew Oke
Tyler Muszelik

Forward group is absolutely loaded. I just can't see Cooley being available so I didn't include him. I think Snuggerud is back with the Gophs, no idea about Gauthier so I just threw him in. Lines 2-4 are pretty interchangeable.

D seems just ok to me, severely missing LHD when I was trying to put this together but I'm sure some will step up.

Goalies are better than this year just by getting another year of experience.

Should be a gold medal favorite for sure.

Still expecting Cooley to leave and Snuggerud to stay, and it sounds like Gauthier will be around. Should be an awesome team next year.

 

[William H Bonney]

While likely losing Cooley is a huge blow, the benefit is it'll probably be what allows Gauthier to play center at the tournament. Losing Cooley shouldn't be necessary for that to happen as Gauthier is so much better as center than he is at wing. But I just don't see coaches going away from the Gauthier / Cooley / Snuggerud line given their history even if they should.

 

[William H Bonney]

Maybe they're reading my posts...

Interested to see how he does. I'm just glad we're not tapping the old boys club by default.

David Carle Named Head Coach of 2024 U.S. National Junior Team

University of Denver head coach will guide Team USA in 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship

teamusa.usahockey.com

 

[sigx15]

I'm interested to see how the goalie situation shakes out. Augustine is the obvious favorite but with Fowler's play the past 18 months, he must be opening some eyes as well

 

[William H Bonney]

I'm interested to see how the goalie situation shakes out. Augustine is the obvious favorite but with Fowler's play the past 18 months, he must be opening some eyes as well

Agreed. Especially as Augustine has not played well in the top tournaments (U18, U20). To be fair to him he was an underage goalie in those, which is asking a lot, but he was not good in either. The upcoming U18s should matter a lot. If he struggles again in a high-pressure tournament where he's not an underage goalie, the competition should be wide open in my opinion.

 

[NewHampshire]

Maybe they're reading my posts...

Interested to see how he does. I'm just glad we're not tapping the old boys club by default.

David Carle Named Head Coach of 2024 U.S. National Junior Team

University of Denver head coach will guide Team USA in 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship

teamusa.usahockey.com

I’m very interested to see how this plays out - as the young fun everyone is enamored with coaches a lot like the last few bench bosses (who failed to impress many)...

He’s a great coach and should do well, I just don’t see this as the departure others may.

 

[sigx15]

I’m very interested to see how this plays out - as the young fun everyone is enamored with coaches a lot like the last few bench bosses (who failed to impress many)...

He’s a great coach and should do well, I just don’t see this as the departure others may.

I always look at the roster construction component being more important than the actual in game coaching facet. I’ll be interested to see what type of team he puts together, this team could be loaded especially up front. Goaltending will be the biggest question in my mind

 

[De Montreal]

wrogn thread

 

[SK94]

Looks like Lane Hutson least is going back to college which is huge for Team USA.

 

[JiggsNY]

Super surprising to me that Cooley hasn’t gone pro after his season. Would be massive to return him to this team. Real possibility the entire forward group is made up of first rounders.