United States send roster loaded with offensive talent to Buffalo
The United States enters the 2018 World Juniors as the defending champions after a thrilling shootout win over Canada in last year’s tournament. The Americans are enjoying a golden age of junior hockey, but will be looking to win a gold medal on home ice for the first time in U-20 team history.
Forwards
C: Logan Brown, Ryan Poehling, Josh Norris, Trent Frederic, Patrick Harper
LW: Kieffer Bellows, Casey Mittelstadt, Brady Tkachuk, Max Jones, Riley Tufte
RW: Kailer Yamamoto, Joseph Anderson, William Lockwood
The United States’ biggest strength at this tournament is their massive load of talent up front, especially down the middle. They have first-round talents Logan Brown, Josh Norris, and Ryan Poehling anchoring the team’s first three lines and will likely use Casey Mittelstadt and Kieffer Bellows on the left wing because of the volume of depth at centre.
Mittelstadt, Brown, and Edmonton Oilers first-round pick Kailer Yamamoto will likely be the team’s top line, as the trio has experience winning gold together at the U-18 tournament in 2016. Beyond that, the United States will have a tremendous amount of depth, as 2017 gold medal winners Bellows and Joseph Anderson will play key roles on the wings.
All told, the United States has 10 forwards who were selected in the first round of the NHL and another in Brady Tkachuk who’s virtually guaranteed to be selected in the first round in 2018.
Defence
Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren, Andrew Peeke, Michael Anderson, Dylan Samberg, Scott Perunovich, Quinn Hughes
While it doesn’t feature the same draft pedigree as the forwards group, the United States’ defence is still solid and mobile. The American blueline features two returnees from last year’s team in Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren. Fox will quarterback the team’s power play while Lindgren will play difficult minutes on the left side.
No American defender was selected in the first round, but 18-year-old Quinn Hughes figured to be a top-five pick in the NHL draft this summer. This tournament will serve as a potential stage for one of the top defenders heading into the draft as the University of Michigan standout looks to build on a U-18 gold medal win in 2017 at junior hockey’s biggest stage.
Goaltenders
Jake Oettinger, Joseph Woll, Jeremy Swayman
The United States will technically have two goalies back from last year’s team. Jake Oettinger, a first-round pick of the Dallas Stars, was the team’s third-string goalie and didn’t play at all while Joseph Woll was strong in two games, posting a .935 save percentage. Those two will compete for the team’s starting job while Jeremy Swayman serves as the third-string.
After an excellent freshman season at Boston College, Woll has struggled this year and owns an .898 save percentage. It’s the same story for Oettinger, who has a .902 save percentage at Boston College. Goaltending isn’t a strength for this American team, but it doesn’t figure to be an issue either.
Thoughts
The Americans’ biggest strength is clearly their offence. While their blueline and goaltending are strong-but-unspectacular, they boast easily the best group of forwards in the tournament. Not only is there elite-level talent, there’s loads of it. The Americans are capable of sending wave after wave of first-round talents at their opponents, giving them a relentless attack.
The team has won five medals, three gold and two bronze, since snapping Canada’s five-year gold streak in Saskatoon back in 2010. They’ve never won a gold medal on American soil before, but there’s a very good chance that this year they finally come through. The key will be the goaltending being good enough, but the offence is going to leave quite a bit of room for error.