WJC: 2024 Team USA Roster Talk

[Cowumbus]

Gauthier Hagens Snuggerud
Perreault Smith Leonard
McGroarty Nazar Brindley
Howard Stramel Moore
Nelson

Plz

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Regardless if Cooley plays for this team or not (and I'm not ruling it out that he plays), we cannot be putting guys like Leonard, Stramel, Moore, Brindley anywhere other than the 3rd line (and maybe the fourth line) and also expect to have a team where all of Gauthier, Snuggerud, McGroarty, Nazar, Howard, Smith, Perreault, Eiserman, and Hagens make it. Because right there, that's 9 players. If you count Smith, that's 10 players and a top 9 (+a 13F) right there. There's no room for anyone else, and then even then of those four potential grinders, at best one of those guys is a 14F.

And it'd be very rare to take a team of all stars. Usually there are a few guys that make the team that no one expects. There will probably be 1 or 2 of those guys that make it at the bottom of the roster, and it takes away the spot of one of the skilled forwards. Yet, if we actually go the route of a true all-star team, those guys have to be the grinders. We gotta choose if that's the strategy we want because I'm not so sure it's a good strategy to go 100% all-in on skill. I don't personally love the idea of some combination of Smith, Nazar, Cooley, Hagens as the top 3 centers. I think I want Stramel as the third line center. Look at how big some of these other teams will be. We have so much skill, but there's such a thing as too much skill. A big team can overwhelm a team like that. If not Stramel in the top 9, Gauthier must play center. We need some size down the middle playing the big minutes. Sweden is going to throw players like Carlsson, Bystedt, Edstrom at us down the middle. They could easily physically overwhelm a much more skilled team.

Logically, I don't see the room for Eiserman and Hagens. It'd be great to find it, but we are already trying to find room for players like Nazar, Howard, and Perreault. It gets difficult to find the room. I actually think both might miss the team, but if either makes it, I think Cooley's absence (if it does happen) might open up a spot for Hagens. Hagens can play center or wing, so he's in the big pool competing for a winger spot, yet also the small pool for a center spot. Eiserman is only a wing. Hagens is competing with less players for a spot, if they truly view him as a center. If they really don't value Gauthier at center and Stramel is on the 4th line (along with no Cooley), there's absolutely an open spot for a center. Eiserman doesn't really gain by Cooley's absence very much.

And lastly, the defense is going to be by far the biggest area of concern headed into the tournament. It sounds like none of the bubble defensive candidates had a standout camp. I saw a projection that had Zach Schulz on the team. That'd be a no-no for me. Can't happen. He could easily look like a turnstile in a knockout round game, and lose it for us. But it speaks to the dire state of the defense. I've seen some other suggestions that seemed to agree with me that we might need to look to draft-eligibles not at this camp for some size on the back-end. As long as he doesn't have a bad start to the season or get injured, I think Skahan has to be looking likely to make this team. Who else is a LHD and provides size not at this camp?

The other thing we have to try to avoid is putting righties on the left side. Our RHD group is not an issue. They get grouped into the defensive issues, but it's almost exclusively LHD after Hutson that we're struggling for. We saw last year that you cannot take such an unconventional defensive core and expect it to work. Take the best options from a conventional defensive core. Don't try to take a defense of smurfs or too many right shots. RHD is going to be Chesley, Casey, and then 1-2 of Rinzel, Pohlkamp, and Brzustewicz (maybe Leddy too). That'll work. LHD is Hutson and then a bunch of big question marks. I think Skahan, Buium, Fischer, Dorrington is the group we're pulling from for those last 2-3 LHD spots, but it's a very unproven group. Those are the guys we need to start next season very well to make things a little more clear headed into the tournament.

 

[Postulates]

Howard and Perreault should be the ones that miss

 

[WarriorofTime]

Regardless if Cooley plays for this team or not (and I'm not ruling it out that he plays), we cannot be putting guys like Leonard, Stramel, Moore, Brindley anywhere other than the 3rd line (and maybe the fourth line) and also expect to have a team where all of Gauthier, Snuggerud, McGroarty, Nazar, Howard, Smith, Perreault, Eiserman, and Hagens make it. Because right there, that's 9 players. If you count Smith, that's 10 players and a top 9 (+a 13F) right there. There's no room for anyone else, and then even then of those four potential grinders, at best one of those guys is a 14F.

And it'd be very rare to take a team of all stars. Usually there are a few guys that make the team that no one expects. There will probably be 1 or 2 of those guys that make it at the bottom of the roster, and it takes away the spot of one of the skilled forwards. Yet, if we actually go the route of a true all-star team, those guys have to be the grinders. We gotta choose if that's the strategy we want because I'm not so sure it's a good strategy to go 100% all-in on skill. I don't personally love the idea of some combination of Smith, Nazar, Cooley, Hagens as the top 3 centers. I think I want Stramel as the third line center. Look at how big some of these other teams will be. We have so much skill, but there's such a thing as too much skill. A big team can overwhelm a team like that. If not Stramel in the top 9, Gauthier must play center. We need some size down the middle playing the big minutes. Sweden is going to throw players like Carlsson, Bystedt, Edstrom at us down the middle. They could easily physically overwhelm a much more skilled team.

Logically, I don't see the room for Eiserman and Hagens. It'd be great to find it, but we are already trying to find room for players like Nazar, Howard, and Perreault. It gets difficult to find the room. I actually think both might miss the team, but if either makes it, I think Cooley's absence (if it does happen) might open up a spot for Hagens. Hagens can play center or wing, so he's in the big pool competing for a winger spot, yet also the small pool for a center spot. Eiserman is only a wing. Hagens is competing with less players for a spot, if they truly view him as a center. If they really don't value Gauthier at center and Stramel is on the 4th line (along with no Cooley), there's absolutely an open spot for a center. Eiserman doesn't really gain by Cooley's absence very much.

Perreault is unlikely to make the team. Granted if he is tearing college hockey a new one, he will be there, but nothing about his NHL Draft pedigree indicates he's a "must take" as an 18 year old, and he's probably one of the more useless players in a "bottom six" capacity.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Perreault is unlikely to make the team. Granted if he is tearing college hockey a new one, he will be there, but nothing about his NHL Draft pedigree indicates he's a "must take" as an 18 year old, and he's probably one of the more useless players in a "bottom six" capacity.

I agree. Howard too. It's hard though to leave off first round picks.

It's a good problem to have so many first round picks that likely one or two are likely going to be left off. That's usually only a problem Canada has.

 

[Jaykay]

Took Cooley out and adjusted the D a bit. I just can't get there with any of the other lefty D men other than Hutson and Dorrington, so I've got 5 righties. Probably won't play out that way but I don't trust someone like Brady Cleveland at this level, hopefully Buium starts strong with Denver. I think Eric Pohlkamp is going to surprise some people and make a strong push for the team.

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

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

Lane Hutson-Ryan Chesley
Jackson Dorrington-Seamus Casey
Charlie Leddy-Sam Rinzel
Eric Pohlkamp

Others: Hunter Brzustewicz, Andrew Strathmann, Zeev Buium, Ryan Healey, Brady Cleveland, Garrett Brown, Paul Fischer, Aram Minnetian

Trey Augustine
Jacob Fowler
Andrew Oke

 

[clevelandcane]

I have a really hard time believing Hagens won't make this team.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I just can't get there with any of the other lefty D men other than Hutson and Dorrington, so I've got 5 righties. Probably won't play out that way but I don't trust someone like Brady Cleveland at this level, hopefully Buium starts strong with Denver. I think Eric Pohlkamp is going to surprise some people and make a strong push for the team.

What about Skahan?

Augustine wasn't viewed as a likely pick for the team at this point last year and then he was the starting goalie because there was a need at that position and he started the year well.

Skahan is already getting talked up to make the team. Chris Peters, Corey Pronman, Max Bultman were talking about it recently on the Athletic Hockey Show.

I know the conventional wisdom is that we'll only take draft-eligibles that are playing college hockey or as good as someone like Hagens or Eiserman, but the last few years that's starting to change a little. USAH will make exceptions when there's a need.

I have a really hard time believing Hagens won't make this team.

I think he's more likely than Eiserman. Eiserman is competing with all the small wingers like Howard and Perreault. We'll probably have a free center spot with Cooley unlikely now.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Cooley:

Gauthier-Cooley-Snuggerud
McGroarty-Smith-Nazar
Eiserman-Stramel-Hagens
Leonard-Lund-Brindley
Moore-Howard

Skahan-Chesley
Hutson-Rinzel
Dorrington-Casey
Buium

Augustine
Fowler
Oke

No Cooley:

Nazar-Gauthier-Snuggerud
McGroarty-Smith-Howard
Eiserman-Stramel-Hagens
Leonard-Lund-Brindley
Moore-Perreault

 

[William H Bonney]

Unless his debut was an aberration, and there is no reason to expect that it was, it's safe to abandon the slim hope that Cooley will be available. He's beyond the junior level.

It would have been fun to see him play at the WJC again. But it's better for USAH's future if it's able to put more guys into the NHL in prominent roles while still WJC eligible. It's the next consistent hurdle for the program to clear at the junior level.

 

[Joe Zanussi]

Unless his debut was an aberration, and there is no reason to expect that it was, it's safe to abandon the slim hope that Cooley will be available. He's beyond the junior level.

It would have been fun to see him play at the WJC again. But it's better for USAH's future if it's able to put more guys into the NHL in prominent roles while still WJC eligible. It's the next consistent hurdle for the program to clear at the junior level.

So right. We need to get to a level where we can lose guys to the NHL and still consistently compete for Gold. That’s where Canada is… that’s where we need to get.

 

[William H Bonney]

So right. We need to get to a level where we can lose guys to the NHL and still consistently compete for Gold. That’s where Canada is… that’s where we need to get.

Exactly right. That's what I want to see happen in the next decade. They have done it - for example the 2017 gold medal team who was missing something like 8 top players - but to your point they haven't proven they can do it consistently.

The default NCAA path for most Americans of course makes it less likely that we'll lose guys early to the NHL, even in cases where we should, compared to the other countries. But we can still do better.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Didn’t Jack Hughes cohort win the world juniors when he was in the NHL?

 

[William H Bonney]

Didn’t Jack Hughes cohort win the world juniors when he was in the NHL?

Yeah. They've won multiple times while missing impact players but the goal should be to go from doing so down 1-2 guys at most to down a lot of guys like the 2017 team.

 

[Joe Zanussi]

I Love watching how many USA guys are missing compared to Canada guys. I always hope it balances out so it’s a fairly level look at how we’re comparing to them. It’s one of my sneaky-favorite things about the tourney.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

I Love watching how many USA guys are missing compared to Canada guys. I always hope it balances out so it’s a fairly level look at how we’re comparing to them. It’s one of my sneaky-favorite things about the tourney.

Are you guys potentially missing any other then Cooley or mostly a full slate this year?

 

[Joe Zanussi]

Just Cooley, I think. You?

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Just Cooley, I think. You?

For Canada right now off the top of my head. Bedard, Fantilli, Benson, Korchinski, Minten, Poitras, Luneau. Savoie and Dumais as well but both on IR. I would imagine like 4 or 5 of those 9 do end up available come Christmas.

 

[William H Bonney]

Are you guys potentially missing any other then Cooley or mostly a full slate this year?

It's pretty much just Cooley for now. Maybe we end up losing another guy or two but if we do it'll be due to injury or illness.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Just Cooley, I think. You?

Tough to assess with the CHL 9 game tryout thing, and the new cool thing is to keep them up until the WJC, have them play in that and then send them back (so they don't hit UFA a year earlier, which basically transitions a year from ELC to RFA compared to the 9 game thing)

 

[WingsMike]

Does Hunter Brzustewicz make this team? I've never actually seen him play but my goodness he's off to a hot start with 19 points in 9 games in the O.

 

[William H Bonney]

Does Hunter Brzustewicz make this team? I've never actually seen him play but my goodness he's off to a hot start with 19 points in 9 games in the O.

He's a top contender for the team but he's not a lock and there is a lot of competition for RHD.

Chesley and Casey are both RHD, basically returnees, and locks. Then you have Rinzel, Brzustewicz, Pohlkamp, Borgesi, Leddy, etc. The LHD options are shallower with only Hutson as a lock.

 

[Joe Zanussi]

Does Hunter Brzustewicz make this team? I've never actually seen him play but my goodness he's off to a hot start with 19 points in 9 games in the O.

Just came to post this. You beat me to it.

 

[Joe Zanussi]

I don’t usually do this cuz you guys know these players way better than I do. But I’m bored and I’ll take a crack. Based on reading, stats, and a little bit of viewing, I’ll roll out:

Gauthier - Smith - Snuggerud
McGroaty - Nazar - Brindley
Eiserman - Stramel - Leonard
Howard - Lund - Lucius
Perrault

Hutson - Chesley
Dorrington - Casey
Livanavage - Borgesi
Brzutewicz

Augustine
Oke
Fowler


probably not enough underagers….Buiuum seems like a potential fit to fix that….but with the offense so loaded, I went with all 04’s on d.

 

[Joe Zanussi]

On a slightly different topic: one team I do get to see a fair amount of is Umass Amherst (so I got to see all the Michigan kids last week) and I’m here to tell you Hrabal is going to be a handful in net for the Czechs. December 29 might be a frustrating day.