WC: TEAM USA

[Gold Standard]

Would be nice to see this turnout. I know I know I know...I say the same thing every year. One of these years the stars will allign.

J GOUDREAU​	A MATTHEWS​	A TUCH​
M TKACHUK​	J HUGHES​	C KELLER​
B TKACHUK​	T THOMPSON​	N SCHMAKTZ​
A LEE​	B NELSON​	J ROSLOVIC​

C GARLAND C MITTELSTADT​

N HANIFIN​	J FAULK​
Q HUGHES​	S JONES​
J MCABE​	C MURPHY​
N LEDDY​	A PEEKE​

S KNIGHT​

J GIBSON​

C DESMITH​

Click to read more...

 

[jaro]

Would be nice to see this turnout. I know I know I know...I say the same thing every year. One of these years the stars will allign.

J GOUDREAU​	A MATTHEWS​	A TUCH​
M TKACHUK​	J HUGHES​	C KELLER​
B TKACHUK​	T THOMPSON​	N SCHMAKTZ​
A LEE​	B NELSON​	J ROSLOVIC​

C GARLAND C MITTELSTADT​

N HANIFIN​	J FAULK​
Q HUGHES​	S JONES​
J MCABE​	C MURPHY​
N LEDDY​	A PEEKE​

S KNIGHT​

J GIBSON​

C DESMITH​

+ Luke Hughes ! To complete triple H

 

[Eye of Ra]

The greatest mystery in sports is that juggernaut USA has 1 gold in WC since the 60s. Makes zero sense.

Anyways, some players from NCAA, AHL and juniors is often included in this rosters. I can see any of Thomas Bordelaeu, Dustin Wolf, Luke Hughes, Logan Cooley, Sean Farell, Jimmy Snuggerud and Lane Hudson getting invited.

 

[SantosHalper]

The greatest mystery in sports is that juggernaut USA has 1 gold in WC since the 60s. Makes zero sense.

Between 1920 and 1968, the Olympic ice hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year. So...

1960 gold
1920, 1924, 1932, 1952, 1956 silvers
1936 bronze

... are actually Olympic medals.

"Real" WHC medal record for USA is following.
Gold: 1933
Silver: 1931, 1934, 1939, 1950
Bronze: 1949, 1962, 1996, 2004, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2021

One reason for lack of success is that for decades WHC tournaments was a "boys trip" to Europe. Wine, women and song. They are still honoring that tradition, last year in Tampere several members of team USA was spotted in local bars. I've been told they had a good time there too and that they were very polite, talked about hockey with lots of people. And Luke Hughes was very popular with the girls, always had a entourage of 4-6 girls around him . But they are taking the tournament more seriously now a days, you can see it from the results. 2013 bronze, 2015 bronze, 2016 4th, 2018 bronze, 2021 bronze, 2022 4th. USA is getting closer to a first gold medal game in men's tournament, it is going to happen sooner than later.

 

[Czechboy]

The US has sent some great rosters in the last decade.

 

[Czechboy]

Speaking of US team.. I'm rewatching the Nagano Quarter .. that 4th goal by the Czechs was horseshit.lol

Beranek CLEARLY tripped Leetch... like blatantly... and then Dopita hammered it home. I would've been pissed.lol

It was a very different game in 1998! So much hooking, jetskiing and holding. Just brutal to watch.

 

[Lartsaman]

I can see guys like Logan Cooley and maybe Rutger McGroarty get an invite. There will also be guys like Farrell, Lafferty etc. OP:s roster is overly optimistic for Team Usa WCH roster but who knows?

 

[Gold Standard]

I can see guys like Logan Cooley and maybe Rutger McGroarty get an invite. There will also be guys like Farrell, Lafferty etc. OP:s roster is overly optimistic for Team Usa WCH roster but who knows?

I do tend to be overly optimistic. and Cooley is the first addition when one of the aforementioned roster players becomes unavailable. playoff status/injury etc.

 

[Johnny Tomala]

Kane won't come as he is UFA. I doubt the USA will field strong roster this year.

 

[William H Bonney]

Unfounded optimism no doubt given what's probably an invite acceptance rate in the low teens for this tournament, but I think we have a decent shot to build a good core to get some early momentum. We tend to target younger players anyway because they're more likely to play and we have a lot of good ones who will likely be available.

For example, I wouldn't be shocked to see these likely available guys accept early invites assuming they're healthy:

Forwards: Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Joel Farabee, Tommy Novak, Logan Cooley
Defense: Quinn Hughes, Noah Hanifin, Luke Hughes, Jake Sanderson
Goalies: Drew Commesso

These guys would probably be likely candidates to add to the above group but unless they sign contracts before the tournament, they'd almost assuredly sit out as RFA's: Trevor Zegras, Alex Debrincat, Troy Terry, Noah Cates, and Shane Pinto.

If we got most of those non-RFA guys above, we'd be starting with a lot of skill and we'd have a good chance to build on it with guys who could really elevate the roster. These guys (not an exhaustive list but a sampling of the skill / role players possible) should largely be available and they don't have contract issues:

Forwards: Tage Thompson, Brady Tkachuk, JT Miller, Dylan Larkin, Alex Tuch, Johnny Gaudreau, Casey Mittelstadt, Conor Garland, Andrew Copp, Travis Boyd, Jack Roslovic
Defense: Cam Fowler, Justin Faulk, Seth Jones, Torey Krug, Connor Murphy, Andrew Peeke
Goalies: John Gibson, Craig Anderson, Alex Stalock, Thatcher Demko

The likelihood would drop drastically as we get into these types of options, especially those with a history of not wanting to play here (i.e., Miller, Tkachuk, Tuch, Copp, Fowler) or likely needing to get healthy (i.e., Demko). But we also have some guys in there with a history of showing up here such as Larkin, Thompson (although not since he became a star), and Gaudreau, or guys who probably have really fond memories of their performances here (i.e., Garland, Gibson) who might want to run that back and play for something unlike what they've experienced with their NHL teams.

It wouldn't be off-the-wall to see say Larkin, Thompson, Garland, and 1 of the d-men and 1 of the goalies from that list show up, too. It playing out that way would be overly optimistic but if we can convince some of the more 'mature' stars like Thompson, Larkin, etc. to show up, and we get the younger guys to accept (which we're better at), it could have the makings of an exciting roster. The goalie options aren't great as most of our top goalies will be in the playoffs but still better options than we've had in some tournaments.

 

[SanDogBrewin]

"USA Hockey has announced that San Jose Sharks coach David Quinn will lead the men’s national team for the upcoming World Hockey Championship in Finland and Latvia in May.

It will be Quinn’s second consecutive year coaching USA, following up on a year that also saw him coach at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China."

So in-game decision making will be awful.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Boo!

 

[William H Bonney]

USAH loves nothing more than uncreative decision making. No one loves a retread option more than they do. What an uninspired choice.

“It’s great to have David coaching our team again this year,” said Chris Clark (South Windsor, Conn.), general manager of the 2023 U.S. Men’s National Team and also the assistant general manager of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. “He knows the player pool extremely well and understands the dynamics involved in preparing a team to win a gold medal on the world stage.”

Emphasis my own. He's never done so successfully above the U17 level.

 

[Zero Pucks Given]

Can't wait to see how this year's team also loses a semifinal, USAH's getting pretty creative at that lately-

"USA Hockey has announced that San Jose Sharks coach David Quinn will lead the men’s national team for the upcoming World Hockey Championship in Finland and Latvia in May.

Lmao. There it is.

 

[DTR]

Larkin will probably go with his contract situation settled.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

I’d imagine Cam York would be an option. He’s been pretty good this year for the Flyers.

Farabee had a neck surgery coming into the year. He’s struggled at times this year likely because of the surgery & missed training time last summer. So he could be a guy that opts out. So he could be a guy who opts for the time off this summer.

Nick Seeler could be one of those random depth players that they typically have. He’s at least surprisingly having a good year as a third pair guy.

Of course this all speculation on my part but I’d imagine these were some guys they’d look at from the Flyers that theoretically could have interest. Farabee usually would check the boxes for accepting an invite (young/under contract) but his situation this year could be something to potentially make him decline.

 

[DTR]

Since his mom is an American he has dual citizenship. He has yet to play in an IIHF sanctioned tournament so he’s able to play for either country. Seems like the US should be all over him.

 

[William H Bonney]

Since his mom is an American he has dual citizenship. He has yet to play in an IIHF sanctioned tournament so he’s able to play for either country. Seems like the US should be all over him.

It's odd that the US (or Canada) hasn't reached out to him already. He's good enough to play for either country at a WC. Granted there are still 4 weeks before the US would head overseas, but there's no point in delaying, either. With Canada you can understand them waiting a bit. Their player pool is deep and their acceptance rate is higher. But with the US it's a certainty he'd be better than some of the options we'll end up with given how few American players are willing to play each go around. If I were an optimist about USAH at the WC I'd say it's maybe a good sign that they're getting early acceptances from guys like Hughes, Faulk, Krug, etc. and want to let things play out. Knowing USAH though, they're probably dragging ass.

 

[SK94]

I was just about to mention that Walman and Tommy Novak seems like a players who could be a good and realistic additions for Team USA.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Possible some players from european leagues will be choosen.

Michael Kapla and Brian Cooper are top Ds in SHL. Les Lancaster is it in Liiga.

Not too many to choose from. Ryan Lasch had a horrible season.

Also there is some good players in AHL. TJ Tynan and Riley Barber comes to mind.

In NCAA there is Logan Cooley, Jimmy Snuggerud, Lane Hudson, Sean Farrell, Collin Graf and Luke Hughes.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Possible some players from european leagues will be choosen.

Michael Kapla and Brian Cooper are top Ds in SHL. Les Lancaster is it in Liiga.

Not too many to choose from. Ryan Lasch had a horrible season.

Also there is some good players in AHL. TJ Tynan and Riley Barber comes to mind.

In NCAA there is Logan Cooley, Jimmy Snuggerud, Lane Hudson, Sean Farrell, Collin Graf and Luke Hughes.

Ryan Lasch. The key to everything.

It's odd that the US (or Canada) hasn't reached out to him already. He's good enough to play for either country at a WC. Granted there are still 4 weeks before the US would head overseas, but there's no point in delaying, either. With Canada you can understand them waiting a bit. Their player pool is deep and their acceptance rate is higher. But with the US it's a certainty he'd be better than some of the options we'll end up with given how few American players are willing to play each go around. If I were an optimist about USAH at the WC I'd say it's maybe a good sign that they're getting early acceptances from guys like Hughes, Faulk, Krug, etc. and want to let things play out. Knowing USAH though, they're probably dragging ass.

USA Hockey tried to get Walman for the WJCs a few years ago but I don't think he met the eligibility requirements at the time. He would now. Would be a good addition.

 

[Hughes Hefner]

With Doug Armstrong and Steve Yzerman running team canada I would put my money on Walman playing for canada at the WC

 

[Boonk]

It's odd that the US (or Canada) hasn't reached out to him already. He's good enough to play for either country at a WC. Granted there are still 4 weeks before the US would head overseas, but there's no point in delaying, either. With Canada you can understand them waiting a bit. Their player pool is deep and their acceptance rate is higher. But with the US it's a certainty he'd be better than some of the options we'll end up with given how few American players are willing to play each go around. If I were an optimist about USAH at the WC I'd say it's maybe a good sign that they're getting early acceptances from guys like Hughes, Faulk, Krug, etc. and want to let things play out. Knowing USAH though, they're probably dragging ass.

He did choose the US over Canada for summer World Junior camps, only reason he couldn’t rep the US in 2016 was due to IIHF eligibility issues which he didn’t meet at the time, but now he has had eligibility for quite some time.

 

[William H Bonney]

 

[SK94]

It would be interesting to know how USA Hockey operates when they are building WC roster. Do they even approach some of these top tier guys at all. It just feels that so early on decent players like Pinto are in the conversation and it is the same thing every year. Sometimes it feels like they want to give an opportunity only for these younger guys and then they need to fill rest of the roster with fourth liners who could not otherwise play in the national team.