2020 World Junior Championship: Projecting the U.S. roster

Spencer Knight has been labeled by some scouts as the best goaltender the NTDP has ever produced. (Rena Laverty/USA Hockey)

With just over a month until the start of the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship, now is a good time to take a look at what the roster could look like for the U.S. National Junior Team.

This year’s World Junior Championship takes place from December 26, 2019 through January 5, 2020 in Czech Republic. This will be the fourth time Czech Republic has hosted hockey’s premier junior event.

For those unfamiliar with the World Juniors, it’s a U-20 tournament, meaning most of the players competing in this year’s event will be born in 2000 and 2001. Some countries could conceivably bring ‘02s and ‘03s, as well.

The ’01 birth year was a strong one for the Americans, but the red, white, and blue will be missing the top player in the birth group as Jack Hughes is already playing in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils. A few top ‘00s also will likely be missing come December as Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.) and Joel Farabee are playing pro hockey, as well.