The United States of Hockey

USA Hockey has submitted its near-completed roster for the U.S. National Junior Team to the IIHF. The roster includes 22 names, one short of the 23 allowed, in order to give USA Hockey added flexibility with its final decision.

You can see the submitted roster here.

The two players left off the submitted roster that remain in camp are Matt Grzelcyk and Patrick Sieloff. One of those two will be sent home likely on Dec. 26 before the tournament officially starts.

It is believed that Sieloff will be the final cut among the defense. He was scratched for the Finland game and looked to be on the outs before the injury concerns cropped up for an undisclosed player.

The good news is that Connor Murphy is on the roster. He was the player believed to be injured (but never confirmed by USAH) that delayed the final roster announcement. His being on the list locks him in for the tournament and means he’s ready to go.

I’d expect an official announcement on the finalized roster within the next 24 hours.

The World Junior Championship opens tomorrow with Latvia meeting Finland in Ufa. Team USA’s tournament begins Dec. 27 against Germany. Expect full Team USA and tournament previews tomorrow on United States of Hockey.

After an unexpected delay to trim down the defensemen to seven, the U.S. National Junior Team staff has still not been able to finalize its roster. One cut will still have to be made on the back end, but since this decision is not likely to come on Christmas Day, we’ll go ahead and detail the eight remaining in the hunt for spots on Team USA.

Jacob Trouba (Photo: Dave Arnold)

I’m told all of the eight defensemen skated for the entirety of Team USA’s first practice since landing in Ufa. That would be a good sign that the pending medical issue that delayed the decision may be cleared up by now.

Even before the final decision is made, this unit should be the strength of the team thanks to its good mix of size and mobility. Team USA’s scoring depth should get a boost with a trio of highly-skilled offensive defensmen and a bevy of good two-way guys.

The biggest question remaining for this defensive corps is how they can maintain the balance between that offensive skill and commitment to defense. With so many guys that like to get up ice, the U.S. D will have to pick its spots well.

As built, this team doesn’t have a prototypical shut-down pair, so finding that balance will be key to Team USA’s success going up against highly-skilled outfits from Canada, Russia and perhaps you could throw Slovakia in there, too.

Coming up after the jump, more on this defensive corps and a look at each of Team USA’s eight defensemen still in the mix for the World Junior Championship.

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USA Hockey announced today that Wisconsin sophomore defenseman Jake McCabe has been named captain for the U.S. National Junior Team. Cole Bardreau, J.T. Miller, Seth Jones and Jacob Trouba have been named the alternates.

Jake McCabe (UW Ath.)

McCabe is a bit of a surprise choice with two players with WJC experience on the team, but  he is the third Wisconsin Badger since 2010 to be Team USA’s captain at the World Junior Championship. Derek Stepan in 2010 and John Ramage in 2011 were the other two.

McCabe is a good two-way defenseman with a sound work ethic. He plays hard and can do a little bit of everything. In addition to evaluating players’ talents for the team, the staff is always evaluating and identifying the leaders for their team during the camp process. Apparently McCabe stood out and he now has the task of helping lead the U.S. into the World Junior Championship.

The four assistant captains will alternate their letters with Bardreau and Trouba wearing As in one color jersey and Miller and Jones wearing As in the other color. I’m not a huge fan of alternating captains, but they have a lot of good options on this team so it’s not a huge surprise that they’re spreading out the designated leadership a bit.

The U.S. still has to get down one more player before rosters must be submitted to the IIHF on the night of Dec. 25. Team USA opens World Junior play on Dec. 27 against Germany.

Stay close to United States of Hockey for more news, analysis and notes throughout the day.

USA Hockey today named most of the final roster for the U.S. National Junior Team. According to Team USA’s GM Jim Johannson, a medical situation has not allowed the staff to finalize its defense, so the team will carry one extra blueliner until that situation is resolved.

The team is due to fly to Ufa today, so it will either have to make a decision before the flight leaves or take an extra defenseman to Ufa and make a final decision when the medical situation clears.

With that, the U.S. officially cut two players today, both of which were first-round draft picks at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Defenseman Brady Skjei and forward Stefan Matteau were released from the camp.

“We are very close to finalizing our group of defensemen, pending the resolution of a medical situation,” said Jim Johannson, general manager of the 2012 U.S. National Junior Team and also the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. “We are set with our 13 forwards and three goaltenders. The decisions we made today were very difficult and are a testament to the talent available to us in the United States.”

More after the jump.

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The U.S. National Junior Team’s final roster will be announced Sunday at 3 a.m. ET. That’s not a typo. USA Hockey was expected to announce the final roster following Team USA’s final World Junior tuneup against Finland today, but that is apparently no longer the case.

USA Hockey initially said a few weeks back that it would name the team on Dec. 23, only to change the date to Dec. 22 at the New York camp. Now they’ve had to alter plans again.

This sudden change in timing is highly irregular from the way things have been done in the past. Perhaps Team USA’s 5-1 loss to Finland today forced some reevaluation from the USA staff about what they want to do. That, or perhaps a player was injured and they need more time for evaluation.

It’s all up for speculation now, but for whatever reason USA Hockey’s staff needed an extra day to make these tough decisions.

The delay in cuts is perhaps good news for the players that were scratched today: Patrick Sieloff, Brady Skjei and Jimmy Vesey. They looked to be on the outs with their being scratched this morning as the U.S. staff was hoping to get some reps with their final roster.

If the U.S. staff simply needs more time to evaluate the information they have on all the players, it really flips everything on its head in terms of projecting the final roster.

Even though it will be during the wee hours of the morning, you can count on United States of Hockey to have in-depth reaction to the roster immediately after it is unveiled. So go out, revel in the holiday spirit, come back and find out who made Team USA.

The U.S. National Junior Team, or at least what is likely to be the final roster for it, took on Finland today in its final tuneup for the World Junior Championship. It didn’t go well. The U.S. lost to the hosting Finns, 5-1, giving up four goals in the third period. Team USA’s roster will be finalized today, so this is a tough way to head into the final decision-making.

While the scoreline is ugly, it’s still a pre-tournament game and hardly time to panic. A penalty-filled game disrupted the flow and put the penalty killers to work. Finland scored three on the power play in the third.

The U.S. won’t see a team more disciplined defensively and as opportunistic as Finland in the tournament, but that’s really no excuse for the offense’s inability to generate much of anything.

There also was Rocco Grimaldi’s first-period goal that was missed by the referee. Grimaldi put the puck in the net, but it bounced off the back bar so quick, the official didn’t see it. With no video review in exhibitions, it stood as no goal. That could have changed things in terms of the final result, but Team USA’s third period was about as bad a period as you’ll see.

Much more after the jump, including Team USA’s lineup, statistics and player notes.

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There weren’t many opportunities for this edition of the U.S. National Junior Team to come together in a live game situation. With just two pre-tournament games, one of which was a sorely needed evaluation game for players that were on the bubble for Team USA, Saturday morning’s contest is an important chemistry-building game.

Team USA will meet Finland at 6 a.m. ET live on NHL Network in its last game in Helsinki. After it’s over, the U.S. will announce its final roster for the 2013 World Junior Championship. It is highly likely the players scratched in Saturday’s game are the ones who will be sent home, unless there’s still any doubts about certain guys.

Head Coach Phil Housley has already said he will dress all of the players that were scratched for the game against Sweden on Saturday. Also, unlike the Sweden game in which the U.S. only dressed 20 players, I’d anticipate the U.S. going with a full 22 against the Finns.

Coming up after the jump, a look at what to watch for during Saturday’s final pre-tournament tilt.

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The U.S. National Junior Team’s preparation for the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship continues today in Helsinki. After Thursday’s thrilling 3-2 overtime win against Sweden, most of the decisions have likely been made about who’s in and who’s out for Team USA.

Seth Jones (Photo: Dave Arnold)

There’s still three cuts to make, so one last practice as an evaluation point for a few players is all that stands between the U.S. staff and naming its final roster.

Team USA will meet Finland Saturday. Expect that roster to look like the team heading over to Ufa as it will be the final tuneup before the games start to count. We’ll have a full preview of that final exhibition game later today on United States of Hockey.

Coming up after the jump, rounding up some of the latest Team USA news including Seth Jones’ bold statement, the return of your (second) favorite American hockey blog, and other links.

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