Brad Holland | NHL.com Staff Writer
Dec 21, 2007, 11:17 AM EST
Forward Colin Wilson of Boston University is projected to be a first-round draft pick in 2008.
In each of the past five World Junior Championships, Team USA has found itself in an enviable position — competing in a semifinal matchup with a chance to move into gold-medal territory. But on four of those occasions, the Americans couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity, settling for the bronze-medal game.

The only success came in 2004, when the Americans won their semifinal matchup and then beat Canada to capture the world’s premier junior tournament.

On the eve of the 2008 edition of the World Junior Championships, the Americans are hungry for gold again.

Last season, after perhaps the most discouraging loss in modern Team USA World Junior history — a shootout loss to Canada — the American side showed as much resiliency as any team ever by picking itself up off the mat and slamming down Sweden in the bronze-medal game. The gritty back-and-forth affair was one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament.

It’s a victory Team USA will be looking to build upon in 2008, and the squad going to the Czech Republic seems fully prepared to do just that. From the goal out, Team USA looks like a contender and a champion in every aspect of its game.

The team is loaded with high-end talent; all but two members of the squad have been taken in the NHL Entry Draft, and the two remaining players are not yet eligible. Boston University forward Colin Wilson is projected to be a first-round selection in 2008, while the youngest member of the team, Jordan Schroeder, should be a blue-chipper for 2009.

Of the drafted players, seven were taken in the first round and one, James vanRiemsdyk, was taken second overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2007.

With that sort of talent, nothing short of gold will be expected by the American players and support staff.

“The good news for USA Hockey is our players go into this expecting to be in the final,” said Jim Johannson, Assistant Executive Director of Hockey Operations for USA Hockey and a front-office veteran of eight consecutive World Junior Championships. “We’ve been in the semifinals the last five years. We were fortunate to win the championship in ’04, we got the bronze last year and we’ve lost some really tough hockey games over the course of that.”

With two medals in the past four tries and five consecutive semifinal berths, Johannson knows just how close his team is to taking its place along with the Canadians and the Russians among the elite teams in the World Junior Championships. The Canadians or Russians have knocked the United States out of gold-medal contention in each of the past four seasons, except for the golden run in 2004.

Leadership

John Hynes will be making his fourth appearance at the world’s premier junior tournament, but first as head coach. He served as an assistant the other three times, including the 2004 gold-medal run. He will be joined by assistants Keith Allain and Patrick Foley.

Their team was selected with an eye on chemistry and character.

“I think overall with the team we feel we’ve put together a good group of guys,” said Hynes. “We took a lot of things into account when we put the team together, such as not only just talent but character, chemistry, mental toughness, (and) different roles.”

Now that the roster has been populated with a team fully prepared to sacrifice for the greater good, it will be up to the coaching staff to find the right mix of lines and players.
“The first part (of our job) was to try to find A-level people that’ll give us A-plus effort, and now our job is to put them in the right seats on the bus and get that going. So we’re really looking forward as a coaching staff to really get into the coaching side now,” Hynes said.

The Forwards

Mike Carman could fill the role of being Team USA's No. 1 center.
Of the 12 forwards selected to the American roster, five are returning from the 2007 team that went 3-1-2 and captured the bronze medal. These returning vets will be counted on heavily for leadership on and off the ice.

But the first-time forwards selected to this roster are very mature, experienced players. As a result, the strength of Team USA may lie in the fact that it has very few holes.
”I don’t think there’s one or two players we’re going to rely on,” Hynes said. “We’re going to rely on the team.”

The team-first approach will be a strength for Team USA in this tournament. The American forward unit is well-balanced — defensively responsible but offensively capable. The only weakness could be the absence of a true No. 1 center.

Mike Carman could fill that role. The small-but-feisty University of Minnesota skater plays far bigger than his six-foot frame and has the skill to make him very dangerous in the offensive zone. However, Carman has not played in a league game since last spring, when he ran into academic problems that have forced him to sit out the first half of the 2007-08 season.

One aspect Hynes likely will attempt to exploit, however, is the Americans’ dangerous winger corps — a physical, grinding group that should create havoc in the attack zone.

The strength in the Team USA attack will lie along the boards, and whether the physically imposing American wingers will be able to use their size to generate scoring chances will be a good indicator of American success in this tournament.

Eight of the 12 Team USA forwards stand 6-foot or better. Four — Ryan Flynn, Blake Geoffrion, Max Pacioretty and vanRiemsdyk — check in at 6-2 or taller.

A question for Team USA will be how well its young players — Wilson and Schroeder — are able to handle the pressure and the pace of WJC games. Both were exemplary at the U-18 and Ivan Hlinka tournaments this summer, but the WJC is a big step up.

If one of these two young players is able to emerge as a legitimate scoring threat, then the Americans will boast three scoring lines and one of the top shut-down lines in the tournament.
That shut-down line — which likely will feature fleet-skating forward Billy Sweatt, a 2007 second-round pick by Chicago, and possibly Geoffrion (2006, Nashville) — could be a key to this tournament.

Overall, the American attack will be based on a dump-and-chase philosophy that allows its quick, agile power forwards to wear down opposing defensemen. If those forwards are able to work the puck out of the corners and muscle it to the front of the net, the Americans will be extremely tough to handle — and even tougher to beat.

The Defense

While technically young — Jamie McBain is the only member to skate at last year’s Championships —Team USA’s defense features an accomplished group of players.
Each defender has been picked in the NHL Draft, and four were taken in the first round. This defense corps is anything but inexperienced. In fact, it is a highly mobile, highly physical crew that doesn’t look to have a single hole, continuing the American tradition of bringing strong blue-line groups to international competition.

This American blue line will have size, as only one, Cade Fairchild (2007. St. Louis, is smaller than 6-1 and only one, Jonathan Blum (2007, Nashville), weighs less than 184 pounds. The group will have speed, especially in the form of University of Notre Dame blueliner Ian Cole (2007, St. Louis), and University of Michigan defenseman Chris Summers (2006, Phoenix). It also boasts one of the Ontario Hockey League’s top offensive defensemen and power-play quarterbacks in the form of Lumberton, N.J., native Bobby Sanguinetti (2006, N.Y. Rangers).

With such a physically imposing forward unit, the American defense will have ample help in the defensive zone. Keeping the puck out of the net shouldn’t be a problem, especially with the quality of goaltending wearing red, white and blue in 2008.

The Goaltenders

Ohio State goalie, Joe Palmer, makes up one half of Team USA's backstop.
The goaltending situation for Team USA could not be better, as both netminders are capable of taking the starting role and running with it. It will be a tough decision to select the goalie to handle the lion’s share of the work.

“Right now we feel as though we have two guys back there that can help us win hockey games,” Hynes said.

Both Ohio State University backstop Joe Palmer (2006, Chicago) and Plymouth Whalers netminder Jeremy Smith (2007, Nashville) are talented, athletic goalies who know how to win.

Palmer is the more experienced of the two in international competition. He was a member of the World U-18 Championship in 2005 and 2006. He did not see action in 2005, but posted a 4-0 record, 1.46 goals-against average and .948 save percentage the next year to show just how calm and successful he has been in pressure situations.

Smith has posted exemplary numbers in his one-plus seasons with Plymouth of the OHL.
With a lifetime record of 36-10-3 and an OHL championship already under his belt, Smith has faced the best the CHL has to offer and lived to talk about it. Though not overly experienced in the international game, his experience shutting down the likes of Canadian forwards John Tavares (2009 eligible), Steven Stamkos (2008 eligible) and Shawn Matthias (Florida) on a regular basis will make him another attractive option.

“I think if we had to play either guy we’d feel very comfortable,” said Hynes.

The Intangibles

Not necessarily as skilled as the team that took the bronze in last year’s competition — forwards Pat Kane and Peter Mueller, two key components to last year’s team, will not be in uniform — the American roster looks as deep and balanced as any other team in the tournament.

Perhaps most important, the roster also seems to be loaded with character players. Many of the skaters are teammates, and each of them, almost without question, is looked upon as a leader on his respective club.

Even the players are optimistic about Team USA seeming to have the right mix.

“That chemistry will come; the process is the most important thing because that’s the biggest thing in this tournament, who clicks well together first. Whoever generates the most chemistry is going to win this tournament,” Geoffrion said.

There seems to be something special about this team, from the upper-level management down to the players. It is a special team at a very interesting time. The success of previous U-20 USA teams has put this squad at a crossroads, where old foes will be faced with a brand new attitude, and gold is the only goal.

i did 1 for the USA now heres 1 for the boys north of the border

Golden hopes for Team Canada
Bill Meltzer | NHL.com correspondent
Dec 21, 2007, 10:51 AM EST

Brad Marchand (above) and Karl Alzner are the only two remaining players from last year's gold-medal team.
The World Junior Championships tournament is an annual rite of passage for hockey’s top prospects. For young Canadian players, the honor of wearing the maple leaf crest of Team Canada always has come with a lot of pressure.

Nothing but a gold medal will satisfy in a land where hockey is a way of life and Team Canada has won 10 gold medals in the last 17 Under-20 world championship tournaments, including the last three in a row.

Coach Craig Hartsburg’s squad enters the 2008 tournament, to be held in Pardubice and Liberec in the Czech Republic, as the overwhelming favorite to win another gold medal. The expectations have been raised even further by Team Canada’s dominance over Russia in the Super Series prior to the season.

But the coach and his players seem to be taking it all in stride.

“There’s always pressure, but you can’t get caught up in that,” said Hartsburg. “We have to embrace the challenge and come ready to work each game. Nothing is a given, especially in a short tournament. Attention to detail is crucial. I’ve been privileged to work with some outstanding groups of young players.”

As usual, the Canadian roster is stacked with talent at every position. Hartsburg faced some enviable problems paring down the preliminary roster. The most notable cuts included 2007 Pittsburgh Penguins first-round NHL Entry Draft pick Angelo Esposito and Calgary Flames goaltending prospect Leland Irving.

Leadership

A former NHL head coach with Chicago and Anaheim, Hartsburg, the Sault Ste. Marie coach, returns for his second year at the helm of Canada’s U-20 team. Prior to running the bench himself, Hartsburg served as Brent Sutter’s assistant.

Hartsburg is known as a demanding coach, but also a good teacher and a stickler for preparation. In interviews, he frequently stresses that the biggest challenge of meeting high expectations at the WJC is to quickly forge a bond of trust within the team – both between the players and him and also amongst the players themselves.
Related Links:

    * 2008 WJC official site
    * World Juniors blog
    * More NHL.com features

The nucleus of players that spearheaded Canada’s last two gold-medal squads has graduated. Only two players from last year’s team remain -- defenseman Karl Alzner and center Brad Marchand. With potential top WJC-eligible players such as 2007 participants Jonathan Toews and Sam Gagner, as well as high-scoring David Perron, playing in the NHL, the Canadian team will need other players to pick up the slack.

The WJC often is dominated by 19-year-old players, but this year’s Canadian roster features a greater number of younger players than a “typical” year.

The kiddie crop, which includes Kyle Turris (third overall pick of the 2007 Entry Draft), Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty (the likely first and second picks of the 2008 Draft) and 2009-eligible wunderkind John Tavares is exceptionally talented and mature.

The poised and articulate Alzner, who turned 19 in September, has been named captain of this year’s squad. Marchand, Brandon Sutter and defenseman Logan Pyett have been named alternates.

Forwards

The sum of individual talent on a team doesn’t necessarily correlate to its chemistry on the ice. But this version of Team Canada should have plenty of skill, grit and players with two-way ability. It has been constructed to be a team, not just a collection of the highest scorers on their respective junior teams.

If the Canada forwards perform up to the level shown in the Super Series, they likely will play with the lead in most games. As always, patience is a must. Opponents such as Sweden likely will take a defensive posture against Canada and attempt to frustrate the Canadians into mistakes that lead to counter-attacking opportunities.
Flyers' prospect, Claude Giroux, makes up one-third of Team Canada's top forward line.

The top forward line for Canada heading into the tournament consists of Turris, Marchand and Philadelphia Flyers prospect Claude Giroux. While that trio may give up a bit of size (Marchand and Giroux) and muscle (Turris) if and when Canada runs into Team USA in the medal round, the unit also is extremely skilled, creative and tenacious when they sense a scoring opportunity.

Behind the top unit, offensive support should come from the likes of recently signed Florida Panthers prospect Shawn Matthias, the sublimely skilled Stamkos, Tavares and small, speedy Zach Boychuk, 2007 Columbus Blue Jackets draftee Stefan Legein and Los Angeles Kings selection Wayne Simmonds (who is having a breakthrough junior season offensively, as well as adding some feistiness).

On the checking lines, Brandon Sutter will be called upon to shut down the oppositions’ top forward units, while Colton Gillies will throw his weight around and stir the pot.

Defense

Last year, Canada came into the tournament knowing it could rely on experienced juniors such as Luc Bourdon, Ryan Parent and Kris Letang to play heavy minutes. This year’s starting defense is a little younger in general, but just as deep and arguably a little better offensively.

Alzner will serve as Canada’s top shut-down defenseman going into the tournament, while Logan Pyett will be a key trigger man on the power play. Top Los Angeles Kings selection Thomas Hickey is expected to provide mobility and a two-way game. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds backliner Josh Godfrey has played well all season and clearly has won Hartsburg’s trust. Offensive-minded Montreal Canadiens prospect P.K. Subban should contribute on the power play.

Among the youngsters on the Canadian blue line, many NHL scouts have said that Super Series participant Doughty (who recently turned 18), with his combination of skating ability, physical play, breakout passing and heavy shot, has franchise-defenseman potential.

Doughty played with Alzner at the Super Series and once again could wind up logging heavy ice time. Likewise, Luke Schenn impressed at the Super Series and is ticketed as a high-end first-round pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

Goaltending

Team Canada has a legacy of outstanding WJC goaltending, and this year’s tandem of Jonathan Bernier and Steve Mason have an especially tough act to follow. Last year, Carey Price (now with the Montreal Canadiens) was nothing short of sensational in goal.

Thus far, Hartsburg has been noncommittal about publicly naming a No. 1 goaltender. He also has raised the possibility of Bernier and Mason splitting time.

Bernier, who opened the season with the Los Angeles Kings before returning to the Lewiston MAINEiacs of the QMJHL, would seem to be the favorite to grab the starting spot and run with it. He’s known for his strong positioning, fast reflexes and poise under pressure. Last year, he lost out on a roster spot to Irving. This year, Bernier sent Irving packing.

But don’t count out Mason. The Columbus prospect is regarded as the stronger puckhandler of the two, and covers more net in close because he has a larger frame. The London Knights goalie arguably has had the more consistent junior season of the two.

Intangibles

The unavailability of players like Toews and Gagner, as well as the more youthful look to the Canadian lineup, has slightly elevated the anxiety level in Canada. But most observers, within and beyond the Great White North, still expect Team Canada to leave the Czech Republic with the gold.

Canada’s preliminary-round bracket is a little less difficult this year than last, at least on paper. This year, Team USA is in the other preliminary pool while Sweden’s roster does not seem quite as good as the 2007 version. Like the Canadians, the Swedes feature a younger look this year.

But the Canadians will face a tough challenge right to start, playing the Czechs on their home turf. Last year in Sweden, Team Canada handled a similar challenge with aplomb, dispatching the host team despite being outplayed in stretches.

Ultimately, however, Canada’s fate will be determined by what happens in the medal round.

While the Canadians clearly will be favored against any of their likely medal-round foes, including Team USA and Team Russia, anything can happen in a one-game playoff, especially if a shootout comes into play. It’s easy to forget that Canada needed a shootout victory last year to squeak past Team USA and into the gold-medal game.

** Erased Blank Space --- Wingsfan **

Maybe so, but someone's in the way.

   

I am confused...  Its hard to see that postage stamp sized picture....  Are you trying to say Canada is in its own way of winning the gold?  The last post you replied to was about Team Canada?

I am not trying to pick at you in anyway leafboy but your post could use a little more sustenance.

John