2012 WJC: USA vs. Denmark Reviewed

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Chris Peters

The scoreboard read 11-3 as the U.S. thumped Denmark for its first victory of the 2012 World Junior Championship. The U.S. thoroughly dominated an inferior opponent after what could only be called a sloppy first period. Despite the score and the efficiency of the offense, there’s plenty for the U.S. to work on in practice.

Photo: Dave Arnold

While the score read 11-3, I never got the feeling that Team USA ever got to its top gear. Basically this is a game in which we didn’t learn a whole lot about this edition of the U.S. National Junior Team, and perhaps that’s alright. If you’re going to play the group’s weakest team in the first game, you don’t want to give too much away to your stronger opponents.

That said, the U.S. looked a little too loose at times. Those instances of loose play led to penalties, mental mistakes and sloppiness. All three times Team USA went on the penalty kill, Denmark scored.

So the game left a few causes for concern, but that’s to be expected in the early stage of the tournament. Team USA’s problems are also fixable.

After the jump, complete analysis of Team USA’s 11-3 victory over Denmark.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, NHL Draft, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | 4 Comments

2012 WJC: USA vs. Denmark Preview

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Chris Peters

Team USA is looking for its third consecutive medal at the World Juniors, but in order to achieve that, it has to get through a challenging preliminary round. It all starts tonight. The United States will open the World Junior Championship against Denmark at 8 p.m. EST live on NHL Network and streaming live on NHL.com.

Photo: Dave Arnold

Denmark isn’t exactly a strong opponent but they’re still one of the 10 best U20 teams in the IIHF this year. Not to slight the Danes, but this is a game in which the U.S. should be able to focus on itself and what they do. The U.S. has gotten some good momentum heading into the tournament with a strong performance in its last pre-tournament game, a 5-0 win over Slovakia. That was the first game with the final roster in place.

The goal for the Americans is to get better every game in the tournament and that was certainly the case during the pre-tournament competition. That needs to carry over, and it has to start against Denmark.

For a complete pre-game preview, it’s all after the jump.

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2012 WJC: Previewing Group B, Brief Look at Group A

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Chris Peters

The U.S. National Junior Team will face a very competitive field playing in the IIHF World Junior Championship’s Group B. Starting with Denmark tonight, the U.S. will meet Finland, the Czech Republic and Canada in preliminary-round action, providing a challenging path to the medal round.

The U.S. shouldn’t have too much trouble getting to the medal round, but achieving the bye to the semifinal, while not as important as you might think, will be a tougher task.

A complete preview of each of Team USA’s Group B opponents comes after the jump… Continue reading →

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2012 WJC: A Beginner’s Guide to the World Juniors

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Chris Peters

The World Junior Championship has continually grown in popularity in the United States. Perhaps before 2010, you never even heard of the tournament. Team USA’s thrilling win in Saskatoon, with John Carlson scoring the OT game-winner against Canada, brought the tournament to a whole new audience.

So know this, if this is your first year taking in the tournament either in the stands or on TV, you’re not alone. This is still a relatively little known tournament in the United States, but NHL Network’s recent commitment to airing each of Team USA’s games until 2018 should change that.

So coming up after the jump, I’ve got your beginner’s guide to the IIHF World Junior Championship from the American perspective.

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Posted in NHL, NHL Draft, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | 5 Comments

USofH on the Air: Talkin’ World Juniors & Team USA with Gospel of Hockey

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Chris Peters

Friday, at 1 p.m. EST, I’ll join Matt Gajtka and Larry Snyder on the Gospel of Hockey podcast. We’ll talk Team USA at length, but also cover the tournament as a whole. Hope to share a few more insights from chats with my sources as well as some more in-depth roster analysis.

It’s always fun to join my pals, Matt and Larry, and talk hockey. You can tune in live at the link above or check back later for the archive. Hope you’ll check it out.

Just a note on coverage. I’ll be taking a break from content over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but come back Monday for a preview of the preliminary round in Team USA’s Group B, as well as a look at the U.S. tournament debut against Denmark coming up Monday night.

Also, throughout Friday and again on Monday, I’ll be answering your Team USA-related questions on Twitter. So whatever it is you might want to find out, let me know and I’ll do my best to get it answered quickly.

Happy Holidays!

Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, NHL Draft, NTDP, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | Comments Off on USofH on the Air: Talkin’ World Juniors & Team USA with Gospel of Hockey

Inside Team USA with Dir. of Player Personnel Tim Taylor

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Chris Peters

The U.S. National Junior Team’s final roster was announced earlier today, but it’s a pretty long and complicated process to get down to what USA Hockey feels are the right 22 players to play in the World Junior Championship.

Dean Blais ultimately has to make the call on who he feels most comfortable with, but he has a pair of great player personnel people to help him with that decision process. Jim Johannson, USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey operations is the U.S. National Junior Team’s general manager. He handles, among other things, scouting and the administrative duties for the team including maintaining an open line with players and their current teams. Then there’s Tim Taylor, who is in his third year as the director of player personnel for Team USA.

Tim Taylor (center) is Team USA's dir. of player personnel

Taylor is an incredibly bright hockey mind, and he’s been around for a long time, so he’s seen a lot. Taylor, who played college hockey at Harvard, was the head ice hockey coach at Yale University for 28 years. Additionally, he was an assistant coach on the 1984 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team and went on to become head coach for the 1994 Olympic Winter Games. So yeah, Tim Taylor has seen a lot of world-class ice hockey.

The seasoned veteran was gracious enough to carve out some time to chat with me today about Team USA’s evaluation and selection process, as well as to discuss the make up of this team and give a few scouting reports on some of Team USA’s lesser known players.

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, NHL Draft, NTDP, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | 5 Comments

U.S. National Junior Team: Forwards

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Chris Peters

While the U.S. probably could say goaltending is its strongest asset, the forward group is certainly going to be a big positive for the U.S. There is a ton of speed and skill, with good scoring depth.

Speed is the key word in there. That’s what this team will be. Call it a cornerstone, or a hallmark. The team speed up front was of paramount importance when selecting this team. Not only will players have to skate with speed, they’ll have to play with speed. Quick decisions, quick passes, read, react, score.

Last year’s U.S. team struggled to score consistently, but this year’s group shouldn’t find that to be as problematic. With four returning players up front and a wide variety of skill sets throughout the forward line up, Team USA should be a very fun team to watch.

Coming up after the jump, a look at each of Team USA’s 13 forwards…

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2012 U.S. National Junior Team: Goaltenders, Defensemen

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Chris Peters

If the U.S. National Junior Team has any hopes of playing for gold, it will need what every team needs, solid goaltending and reliable defense.

While the defensive corps was thinned out by the NHL and injury, the group brought in is still very capable of getting the job done. This is where the depth will have to show. There are a few guys that would have been out of the mix had Justin Faulk and Seth Jones been available, so they’ll have to prove they can handle the responsibility. Neither of those two players are easily replaced, but if the void is at least mostly filled, the U.S. is in good hands.

The goaltending has been a point of strength for all levels of USA Hockey for at least the last three years. Gone are the days of having so much talent up front and so little in net. Team USA has two bona fide elites between the pipes and that could be the big difference.

A complete player-by-player breakdown is after the jump:

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, NHL Draft, NTDP, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | 1 Comment

U.S. National Junior Team Roster — Rapid Reaction

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Chris Peters

The 22 players that will represent the United States at the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship have been selected. These are the players Dean Blais will have at his disposal in USA Hockey’s quest for third-consecutive medal, and if Blais has is way, second gold in three years.

It’s a long process to get to this point, beginning at the conclusion of last year’s World Juniors and now here we are. The 22 players chosen are the guys USA Hockey gives them the best opportunity to win. There will always be head scratchers or curious decisions, but there always seems to be a method to the madness.

So without further ado, check out my rapid reaction to this roster after the jump…

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Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, NHL Draft, NTDP, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | 2 Comments

2012 WJC: USA Hockey to Announce Final Roster Thursday, 10:30 a.m. EST

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Chris Peters

Who makes the cut? (Photo: Dave Arnold)

Per USA Hockey’s live blog for Wednesday night’s exhibition between Team USA and Switzerland, the organization will announce the final roster for the U.S. National Junior Team at 8:30 a.m. MST (10:30 a.m. EST) on USAHockey.com.

Be sure to stick with United States of Hockey all day long for complete player-by-player analysis, thoughts from Team USA staff and player personnel folks and much more.

Posted in American Prospects, Junior Hockey, NCAA, NHL, NHL Draft, NTDP, U.S. National Teams, USA Hockey, World Junior Championship | Comments Off on 2012 WJC: USA Hockey to Announce Final Roster Thursday, 10:30 a.m. EST