The United States of Hockey

The U.S. National Junior Team comes into Sunday’s action as the top dog in Group A. With Canada’s shocking 5-4 shootout loss to the Czech Republic Saturday, Team USA sits atop the Group A standings as the only perfect team. They’ll meet Germany at 9 a.m. ET Sunday with the game airing live on NHL Network, with a simultaneous live stream on NHL.com for free in the U.S.

Germany has really struggled at the WJC so far, having lost both games by a combined score of 16-4. They’re almost assured a trip to the relegation round, but the U.S. has to remain focused on building on its previous two performances. With a New Year’s Eve date with Canada ahead, the U.S. can’t look past the Germans even if they are unlikely to pose much of a threat.

Team USA has had two wins, but a particularly messy performance in the second period against Slovakia revealed some things to improve on. That’s what games like the one against Germany offer. The pressure is off a little bit, but there are enough skill guys up front for the Germans to at least keep the Americans honest.

A regulation win over Germany solidifies the U.S. heading into that game against Canada in the driver’s seat to win the group. Coaches will be preaching improvement with each game and the U.S. will want to continue that trend against Germany.

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The U.S. National Junior Team came into their second game as heavy favorites over Slovakia. At times they certainly looked like it, but a lack of consistency and discipline throughout the contest made the game tougher than it needed to be for the U.S. Still, they managed a 6-3 win to improve to 2-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) at the World Junior Championship.

Team USA got a lot more resistance from a faster, more skilled Slovakian team than they experienced against the Czechs, but were able to skate away with the right result thanks to some timely scoring and early proficiency on the power play.

It wasn’t a full 60 minutes out of the U.S., which is something they’ll want to clean up, but it’s also part of progressing in the tournament. The U.S. did do a better job of finishing the chances they got and Jon Gillies made some huge timely saves, and the U.S. was able to walk out with a win despite not being at their best. That’s an important building block.

Now they have things to work on when they meet Germany Sunday. Finding some level of consistency will be a big key to the next few days in games and practice, but this U.S. squad has shown they have the talent to make up for some of their mistakes. They’ll be happy to get the win and move on knowing where they need to improve before the big New Year’s Eve tilt with rival Canada.

After the jump, a scoring summary, general team notes and many thoughts on individual players for Team USA.

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With the first game jitters out of the way, things intensify for the U.S. National Junior Team in its second tilt at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship. Team USA will meet Slovakia at 7:30 a.m. ET in Day 3 action at the WJC. The game will air live on NHL Network and will be streamed live on NHL.com for free in the United States.

In the second contest, the U.S. will face a strong Slovakian side that has some really solid skill players up front, decent team speed which could provide a greater challenge than the Czech Republic offered. The Slovakians are riding high after a 9-2 drubbing of Germany Thursday and will have their eyes on an upset of the defending gold medalist.

The U.S. has plenty of confidence of its own after playing a strong game against the Czech Republic and earning a 5-1 win in the tournament opener. The pace the U.S. played with in that first game is what they’ll want to carry throughout. Bringing that same effort and intensity to the second game will be just as important, if not moreso.

Coming up after the jump, the latest on Team USA, thoughts on Slovakia, a projected U.S. lineup, three keys to the game and pre-game links.

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The U.S. National Junior Team got off to a rousing start to the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship with a 5-1 victory over the Czech Republic. Team USA got goals from five different players and avoided that first-game lull that can lead to rough starts for some teams.

There were some of the miscues that you so often see in tournament openers with still-familiarizing teammates, but overall, the speed took over and overwhelmed the Czech Republic. This U.S. team showed that they can play within the system Don Lucia wants and they have the pieces to play what should be an effective style at this level.

The way Team USA’s defense was able to play throughout the game may have been one of the most encouraging signs from a U.S. standpoint. They were aggressive, physical and engaged in the offensive zone. When the defense is going well, it really helps every aspect of play, especially when they’re distributing as well as they were in transition.

The scoring showed up as well. Even though the U.S. scored five goals, they had a few plays they didn’t finish well enough, which is something that will matter in the games against better opponents, but that’s something that can progress as the tournament wears on. Continue reading →

2014 WJC Primers: World Juniors General Preview – Full Team USA Preview — U.S. Roster

After all the previews and scouting reports and other prep work, it’s finally time to drop the puck. The 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship opens for the defending gold medalist United States against the Czech Republic Thursday. You can catch the game live on NHL Network or streaming live on NHL.com in the U.S., starting at 11:30 a.m. ET.

As is the case with the first of anything, there’s always that hint of nerves and even perhaps a little uncertainty as the games go live a the World Juniors. For Team USA, the first game offers quite a test. The Czech Republic has been a fairly average team at this tournament in recent years, but there is enough skill in this Czech group to not take them lightly.

This could be a bit of a trap game for the U.S. if they don’t come into it ready to play. Team USA just made its final cut Christmas Day, so they haven’t even had a full day of practice with the finalized roster. This group has been together for 10 days however, going back to training camp, so they should at least feel familiar enough with one another.

Getting a good start to the tournament is always important. In an ideal world, teams would just be able to be at their best right away, but that’s not how it works when you bring a team together for a 10-day tournament. The smoother the team starts out, the more quickly they can take the next step. Getting the team into a rhythm early helps smooth out the play as the tournament progresses.

Every coach is going to preach getting better with every game in an event like this, so if the first game is Team USA’s worst, they’ll probably feel pretty OK about that. Thing is, the Czechs can be an opportunistic team and in years where they’ve gotten at least a little goaltending, they’ve pulled some surprises. They’ll need just that this year, especially early against Team USA. Continue reading →

2014 WJC Primers: World Juniors General Preview — Full Team USA Preview

It’s Christmas Day across the world, but it’s World Juniors Eve for those that love the tournament, so that means there’s some news to report. The U.S. National Junior Team has finalized its roster, down to the requisite 20 skaters and three goaltenders that will make up the squad that will attempt to defend gold for the USA at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship.

University of Michigan forward Tyler Motte was the final cut. He had been battling injury since the team traveled to Sweden and did not play in either exhibition game. Motte did practice with the squad recently, but either the staff didn’t feel confidently enough in his readiness after little ice time the last few days or he’s still not 100 percent. It’s tough to be the last cut and Motte probably would have helped, but Team USA does have some really solid players that can play a similar role.

So, officially, here is Team USA’s roster for the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship as submitted to the IIHF today:

Goaltenders: Thatcher Demko (2014), Jon Gillies (CGY), Anthony Stolarz (PHI)

Defense: Will Butcher (COL), Connor Carrick (WSH), Matt Grzelcyk (BOS), Ian McCoshen (FLA), Steven Santini (NJD), Brady Skjei (NYR), Jaccob Slavin (CAR)

Forwards: Riley Barber (WSH), Andrew Copp (WPG), Thomas Di Pauli (WSH), Jack Eichel (2015), Adam Erne (TBL), Hudson Fasching (LAK), Ryan Hartman (CHI), Vince Hinostroza (CHI), Nic Kerdiles (ANA), Stefan Matteau (NJD), Danny O’Regan (SJS), Quentin Shore (OTT), Zach Stepan (NSH)

You can get season stats to date and a brief report on each player here.

More on Team USA after the jump.

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The 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship opens Thursday in Malmo, Sweden. The U.S. National Junior Team seeks its second straight gold medal at the tournament and third in five years.

There will be a lot of new faces on the team this year, so it’s not really a true title defense so much as an attempt to continue the American stretch of success at the WJC. You can read a full Team USA preview here.

In this post, you’ll find the vitals on each player including position, height, weight, NHL Draft rights, current team and season statistics to date. Also included is a brief scouting report on each player and where to follow them on Twitter.

Here’s Team USA’s 23 players at a glance.

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Riley Barber has been named captain of the U.S. National Junior Team, USA Hockey announced Sunday. Andrew Copp and Matt Grzelcyk will also wear letters as alternate captains.

Riley Barber (USA Hockey)

Barber comes in as one of three returning players from last year’s gold-medal winning team. The Miami University winger had six points at the last WJC and will be leaned on heavily as a top-line forward for Team USA. Him getting the C puts even more pressure on him to be the go-to scorer he is expected to be and his experience puts him in a position to lead by example. Barber is a Washington Capitals draft pick.

Copp and Grzelcyk play prominent roles on their respective teams as sophomores and are in leadership roles. Both also have good international experience as well, which can be helpful. The pair are also smart players who are well respected by coaches and players alike. Copp is a Winnipeg Jets pick, while Grzelcyk is a Boston Bruins prospect.

This is a good leadership core for the U.S., and in short tournaments, having good leaders in the locker room can be a big difference maker in a short tournament. Making sure the team comes together quickly often helps if the leadership core can guide things that way.

The U.S. still has one cut to make, but obviously none of these guys are going anywhere. They’ll have to help smooth the transition into tournament mode when the final roster is decided.