The United States finalized their 25-man roster Saturday for the 2021 World Junior tournament that begins on Christmas day. The roster features 13 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies.
Forwards: Matthew Beniers (2021 draft eligible), Brett Berard (NYR), Matthew Boldy (MIN), Bobby Brink (PHI), Brendan Brisson (VGK), Cole Caufield (MTL), Sam Colangelo (ANA), John Farinacci (ANA), Arthur Kaliyev (LA), Patrick Moynihan (NJ), Landon Slaggert (CHI), Alex Turcotte (LA), Trevor Zegras (ANA)
Defense: Brock Faber (LA), Drew Helleson (COL), Ryan Johnson (BUF), Tyler Kleven (OTT), Jackson Lacombe (ANA), Jake Sanderson (OTT), Hunter Skinner (NYR), Henry Thrun (ANA), Cam York (PHI)
Goalies: Spencer Knight (FLA), Logan Stein (Undrafted), Dustin Wolf (CGY)
The plan for general manager John Vanbiesbrouck and head coach Nate Leaman was to enter the tournament with 14 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies, however with the roster submission deadline looming and a pair of forwards suddenly unavailable due to COVID related protocols, things quickly changed for them.
According to the Boston Globe, Bruins prospect and Michigan forward John Beecher tested positive for COVID-19 Saturday morning. The final test of the USA training camp.
Because of the strict COVID protocols enforced by the International Ice Hockey Federation, roommate and fellow Michigan forward Thomas Bordeleau was also left of the team’s roster.
“They were crushed,” Vanbiesbrouck said of Bordeleau and Beecher. “We appealed, did everything we could to understand and disseminate information, talk to our doctor group. They had to get back to the IIHF with these protocols. But the players were crushed.”
Although the Americans would have greatly benefited from the services of Beecher—who was a part of the roster last year—and Bordeleau, the team still features a ton of talent and a roster very capable of winning gold.
“I really like our defensive core, I think the strength of this team will be from the net out. I think our defensive core has really surprised us in this camp being a team that has nine defensemen that are very capable of playing in the tournament,” Leaman said.
“I think we’ll be building from the net out with this group and building our identity from the net out. I think we’ll have to be dangerous on the power play. We’ve worked special teams everyday that we’ve skated. We’re kind of focused on that also.”
One of those defenseman that Leaman is excited about is Senators prospect Jake Sanderson, the 5th overall pick in the 2020 entry draft.
“I think he’s going to have a big role in our group because he does everything well. You can’t look at Jake and say there’s a glaring weakness in his game whatsoever. I would expect for Jake to log a lot of minutes for our defensive core,” Leaman said.
“We’re going to try and make sure we give him the ice that the team needs, but you also want to make sure he don’t wear down or anything. He does everything well. I’ll tell you this, it’s hard to keep him off the ice—a player that does so many things well.”
While the Americans are certainly loaded between the pipes with Panthers prospect Spencer Knight, and a solid d-core in front of him, Team USA has some exciting players up front.
One forward Leaman is expecting a big tournament from is Canadiens prospect Cole Caufield.
“I think he’s getting the puck off a lot quicker from the film that I saw last year. I like his motor right now, I like him hunting down loose pucks, I like him just overall playing faster,” Leaman said. “But it’s his second time through [the tournament] and I think he realizes now how hard the tournament is and that the preparation he puts in now and the effort he puts in now is what’s going to lead to him having success in the tournament.”
With the NHL yet to begin training camps in preparation for the 2020-21 season, NHLer’s like Kirby Dach and Nick Robertson were likely candidates for their respective countries.
While Dach made the Team Canada roster, Robertson will not be joining the Americans when they kick off their tournament against Russia on Christmas night.
However, Roberston making the team or not was a decision that Vanbiesbrouck and Leaman never got to make as they were informed by the Maple Leafs that they would not be releasing him for the tournament.
The decision to keep Robertson out of the tournament hinged on the start date of NHL training camps. With that date reportedly being January 3rd, the Leafs did what they felt was best for both the player and the organization.
“Nick was individually quarantining and obviously there’s been a lot of discussion that we’re not privyed to between the NHL and [NHL]PA, but this was a hockey decision by the Toronto Maple Leafs,” said Vanbiesbrouck. “I think we can all respect hockey decisions and they wanted Nick to be ready for the start of when their camp starts which is what we were told.”
After taking on Russia on Christmas night, the Americans will face Austria on Dec. 26, the Czech Republic on 12.29 and Sweden on Dec 31.
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