U18: Team USA 2023 U18 Championship

[SK94]

Very smart from Smith. Pathetic.

 

[William H Bonney]

Very smart from Smith. Pathetic.

Never saw a good replay so I could be wrong but that's a very bold penalty to call.

 

[SK94]

Couple good ones from Augustine.

 

[William H Bonney]

Couple good ones from Augustine.

The only consistent positive today from the team so far is that he's played pretty well. No fault on either goal and he's made some very nice saves. He hasn't been under siege but he's been very steady, which has been nice to see. Glad to see him perform well given his previous struggles in big games at this tournament and the WJC.

 

[SanDogBrewin]

Yep. Sweden got too confident that they could hunker down.

Yup backfired.

 

[William H Bonney]

Huge kill. Interested to see how that impacts the game.

Man. You have to feel for Erliden. He was so good all game and then he just can't squeeze that one off.

 

[SanDogBrewin]

Great comeback!

 

[William H Bonney]

The NTDP has issues that need to be addressed. But full marks to this team for battling back. They were lifeless in the 2nd and seemed destined to mire themselves in frustration on their way to a silver medal. Too often this particular team would get selfish and individualistic when things weren't bouncing their way. But much to my surprise, they turned it around in the third to win gold.

 

[SK94]

Lets F* go. Best thing is that team started to show character at the end. Some massive blocks from multiple guys both in the end of third and overtime. Top guys scored those goals end of the day. Finally the trophy is back.

I guess Muse proved me wrong and he was able to bring this team back to life in the third.

 

[Kcoyote3]

What a team win

 

[William H Bonney]

Lets F* go. Best thing is that team started to show character at the end. Some massive blocks from multiple guys both in the end of third and overtime. Top guys scored those goals end of the day. Finally the trophy is back.

Pretty much this. So often USAH folds like a cheap tent when things get tough. It was nice to see this team at least flip the script after looking like they'd follow it after the first 40.

 

[William H Bonney]

Danny Nelson is an intriguing prospect. He's still fairly new to forward. I'd be shocked if he's not a long-term NHLer. The question is just how much offensive upside is there. But he does so many things well that even if he doesn't unlock another level offensively, he looks to project really well as a 3rd liner.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Big props to this group for what they showed in the third period and on that PK. They knew what they needed to do and they did it then got the gritty goal from the bottom line and took advantage of when Sweden finally made a mistake and gave them a powerplay. Trey Augustine silenced the critics today imo. Excellent performance keeping them in it.

 

[SantosHalper]

Congrats USA, dominant effort. Enjoy the moment.

 

[clevelandcane]

I thoroughly enjoyed this tournament. The US was dominant all the way up to the final game. I thought they came out strong but Sweden punched back and was the better team through the 2nd and beginning of the third. When the US finally played with desperation they took over.

Many props to SWE. What a fantastic game. The teams were basically even.

Loved the Swedish goalie. Loved ASP.

For the US I really came to appreciate the D core. I thought Minnetian was fantastic today. Hutson is soooo fun. Buium too.

Congratulations, Team USA!!!

 

[AmericanDream]

I thoroughly enjoyed this tournament. The US was dominant all the way up to the final game. I thought they came out strong but Sweden punched back and was the better team through the 2nd and beginning of the third. When the US finally played with desperation they took over.

Many props to SWE. What a fantastic game. The teams were basically even.

Loved the Swedish goalie. Loved ASP.

For the US I really came to appreciate the D core. I thought Minnetian was fantastic today. Hutson is soooo fun. Buium too.

Congratulations, Team USA!!!

Very good to see we finally brought this back. Too many times we cave when down but excellent to see these kids fight back and win. This is what USA Hockey needs, winning! Some very bight futures here...keep this momentum to the u20 tourney this winter!!

Way to go boys!!

 

[clevelandcane]

Very good to see we finally brought this back. Too many times we cave when down but excellent to see these kids fight back and win. This is what USA Hockey needs, winning! Some very bight futures here...keep this momentum to the u20 tourney this winter!!

Way to go boys!!

Do you think any of these kids makes the WJ this year? Besides Augustine of course.

 

[Eye of Ra]

you guys where better than us, so many skilled players. we won last year, you guys won now. see you next year in the finals again

 

[Rabid Ranger]

you guys where better than us, so many skilled players. we won last year, you guys won now. see you next year in the finals again

Are you sure?

 

[WarriorofTime]

Do you think any of these kids makes the WJ this year? Besides Augustine of course.

Somewhere between like 6-10 18 year olds make the US World Junior team every year, overwhelmingly from the group of USNDTP most recent grads. Augustine, Smith and Leonard are probably all basically locks. I think Perreault and Moore are probably there as well, and you'd have to imagine at least 1 D (maybe Minnetian?) makes it there. The 17 year olds should challenge as well. Hard to see Eiserman not being there if he's still in the 1/2 discussion for the next Draft.

 

[cagney]

I understand the questions around the NTDP, and they are questions that anyone with an interest in US hockey, as well as USA Hockey themselves, should always be asking. It seems like going back to the early days of the program, the question of how expensive the NTDP is and whether or not that money would be better spent elsewhere to support the growth of the sport in our country has always been there. I was and have always been a proponent of the notion that investing in the game at the youth and grassroots level is likely best, since fostering a love for the game and finding ways to increase skill development at a time when players are their most pliable, makes a lot of sense to me, at least in theory. It's a pretty esoteric area to follow, but the ADM was always of interest to me and I'm wondering if there's any data-driven analysis of how successful it has or hasn't been. If it hasn't been as successful as hoped, I'd be interested to know why, what changes would need to be made, and whether or not reinvesting money devoted from programs like the NTDP would be useful. If it has been a success, how do we push it to the next level? The whole subject probably is deserving of it's own thread.

All that said, I've always loved having the opportunity to see all or most of the top American junior-aged players in one spot at the NTDP, and really do enjoy the way the program works towards the U18 WJC since it's a fun tournament to follow in my opinion, even if it shouldn't be the end-all-be-all for quantitfying the success of the program. When you consider there isn't any kind of best-on-best senior hockey currently, I value any opportunity to see how different nations stack up against each other. Would I sacrifice the NTDP and U18 WJC success if it meant some type of larger success for US hockey, regardless of what that manifests itself as? I'm somewhat certain I would. But what exactly is it we're aiming for? A return to best-on-best hockey with the US finding consistent success? Producing a greater portion of both the high-end and total player pool of the NHL? Or just growing the overall popularity of the sport in the country so that.... the NHL, it's owners, and any USA Hockey stakeholders can make more money? I suppose you'll fall into a philosophical pit of what sport even means if you continue down that rabbit hole.

Anyway, I really enjoyed watching this team play some beautiful hockey over the course of the tournament, liked seeing them adjust, show heart, and determination against one of the better Swedish teams I've seen at this level, and am proud that they won the Gold. I hope to see them find lots of success at the next levels, and maybe have an opportunity to be part of a larger group that finds success at the senior level wearing the jersey if that's ever in the cards again.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I understand the questions around the NTDP, and they are questions that anyone with an interest in US hockey, as well as USA Hockey themselves, should always be asking. It seems like going back to the early days of the program, the question of how expensive the NTDP is and whether or not that money would be better spent elsewhere to support the growth of the sport in our country has always been there. I was and have always been a proponent of the notion that investing in the game at the youth and grassroots level is likely best, since fostering a love for the game and finding ways to increase skill development at a time when players are their most pliable, makes a lot of sense to me, at least in theory. It's a pretty esoteric area to follow, but the ADM was always of interest to me and I'm wondering if there's any data-driven analysis of how successful it has or hasn't been. If it hasn't been as successful as hoped, I'd be interested to know why, what changes would need to be made, and whether or not reinvesting money devoted from programs like the NTDP would be useful. If it has been a success, how do we push it to the next level? The whole subject probably is deserving of it's own thread.

All that said, I've always loved having the opportunity to see all or most of the top American junior-aged players in one spot at the NTDP, and really do enjoy the way the program works towards the U18 WJC since it's a fun tournament to follow in my opinion, even if it shouldn't be the end-all-be-all for quantitfying the success of the program. When you consider there isn't any kind of best-on-best senior hockey currently, I value any opportunity to see how different nations stack up against each other. Would I sacrifice the NTDP and U18 WJC success if it meant some type of larger success for US hockey, regardless of what that manifests itself as? I'm somewhat certain I would. But what exactly is it we're aiming for? A return to best-on-best hockey with the US finding consistent success? Producing a greater portion of both the high-end and total player pool of the NHL? Or just growing the overall popularity of the sport in the country so that.... the NHL, it's owners, and any USA Hockey stakeholders can make more money? I suppose you'll fall into a philosophical pit of what sport even means if you continue down that rabbit hole.

Anyway, I really enjoyed watching this team play some beautiful hockey over the course of the tournament, liked seeing them adjust, show heart, and determination against one of the better Swedish teams I've seen at this level, and am proud that they won the Gold. I hope to see them find lots of success at the next levels, and maybe have an opportunity to be part of a larger group that finds success at the senior level wearing the jersey if that's ever in the cards again.

These are fair points, I think we're at the stage where we as American hockey fans expect the U.S. to be a gold medal contender each year at the u18, u20, and senior levels on the men's side. On the junior side we are for sure. On the senior side we are still lacking even though we get the odd bronze here and there. It doesn't help we haven't had a true best on best senior tournament in awhile. It's a shame too because I don't think we've ever had more top end talent. IMO, the U.S. could ice a team *now* that would be historic.

 

[cagney]

These are fair points, I think we're at the stage where we as American hockey fans expect the U.S. to be a gold medal contender each year at the u18, u20, and senior levels on the men's side. On the junior side we are for sure. On the senior side we are still lacking even though we get the odd bronze here and there. It doesn't help we haven't had a true best on best senior tournament in awhile. It's a shame too because I don't think we've ever had more top end talent. IMO, the U.S. could ice a team *now* that would be historic.

If we could have a best-on-best that's really all that matters from the senior side at this point in my opinion. There are just too many fundamental factors working against any consistent US success at the senior World Championships. The issues are brought up again each year, so we all know them, and I believe they are too big for USA Hockey to solve, so it's probably the most unattainable of all the criteria for success that we might lay out as fans of US hockey. We could grab a gold at some point if all the stars aligned, but it wouldn't contribute to the fundamental changes required that would result in consistent success there. But perhaps I'm just a pessimist on that front.