After a disappointing finish at the 2020 World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic, USA Hockey will turn its attention to 2021.
The Americans failed to medal for the first time since 2015. A 1-0 loss to Finland in the quarterfinals ended the U.S. National Junior Team’s run to a medal.
It’s easy to second guess and there were a couple questionable decisions that I previously have voiced concern over, including leaving Boston College freshman Matt Boldy off the roster. The lack of ice time for a couple of lethal offensive threats once in the Czech Republic were equally head scratching. However, Minnesota Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin is a three-time NCAA champion as coach of the Bulldogs, so his résumé is hard to argue against.
The 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship will be held in the Canadian province of Alberta. The action will be split between Edmonton and Red Deer, with all medal-round games taking place at Rogers Center, home of the Oilers.
With several high-profile first-round draft picks, there could be some players missing from the U.S. team when the tournament rolls around next December. The Americans already werewithout first overall pick Jack Hughes, the headliner of a terrific '01 class. The other '01s who might be missing from the roster due to being on an NHL roster are Boston University center Trevor Zegras, Boston College goaltender Spencer Knight and Wisconsin forwards Alex Turcotte and Cole Caufield. The biggest risk of those four is certainly Zegras, a Bedford, N.Y., native who was selected ninth overall by the Anaheim Ducks.
For the purposes of this exercise, we’ll assume all those players return to school for their sophomore seasons, however unlikely that might be. Below is my initial projection for what the 2021 U.S. National Junior Team roster could look like come next December. Keep in mind that plenty can happen over the next 12 months and I reserve the right to change my opinion based on the development of certain players.
Forwards
- Trevor Zegras, Boston University
- Alex Turcotte, Wisconsin
- Cole Caufield, Wisconsin
- Matthew Boldy, Boston College
- Bobby Brink, Denver
- Arthur Kaliyev, Hamilton Bulldogs
- Nicholas Robertson, Peterborough Petes
- Johnny Beecher, Michigan
- Sean Farrell, Chicago Steel
- Patrick Moynihan, Providence
- Owen Lindmark, Wisconsin
- Antonio Stranges, London Knights
- Matt Beniers, U.S. NTDP U-18
* Cross Hanas (Portland Winterhawks), Sam Colangelo (Chicago Steel) and Blake Biondi (Hermantown) would be three players I’d have as ready to be called up should Zegras, Caufield and Turcotte sign NHL deals and be unavailable.
Defensemen
- Cam York, Michigan
- Henry Thrun, Harvard
- Alex Vlasic, Boston University
- Drew Helleson, Boston College
- Dom Fensore, Boston University
- Jake Sanderson, U.S. NTDP U-18
- Ryan Johnson, Minnesota
* Other defensemen in the running are Mason Lohrei (Green Bay Gamblers), Michael Koster (Tri-City Storm), Mitchell Miller (Tri-City Storm), Donald Kempf (Muskegon Lumberjacks) and Luke Reid (Chicago Steel).
Goaltenders
- Spencer Knight, Boston College
- Dustin Wolf, Everett Silvertips
- Grant Riley, Janesville Jets
* Should in a very unlikely scenario Knight make Florida’s NHL roster in 2020-21, I’d add Colin Purcell (Youngstown Phantoms) to the roster. The Americans would still be in good hands between the pipes with Wolf.
