It’s been a terrible year. Come say goodbye to it with the good fellows at Sound Of Hockey, who have been here with you through it all.
On this week’s Sound Of Hockey, the last of this atrocious year, John, Andy, and Darren chat about some real, actual hockey, as the World Junior Championship is in full swing, and it’s been super fun.
They also play a game of “Interesting Or Carry On” to review a flurry of recent NHL transactions, as general managers awake from hibernation and close out some last-minute business before training camps start.
Segments this week include Goalie Gear Corner (featuring this and this), Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week. Before leaving you for the last time in 2020, the guys share with you each of their favorite guests of the year.
The Blackhawks are probably not going to be particularly good this season. A team already in full re-build mode, Chicago has been dealt a series of maladies that will leave it without its captain, Jonathan Toews, and without two of its up-and-coming young players, Kirby Dach and Alexander Nylander, for the foreseeable future. But how does all this affect the plan for the Chicago Blackhawks in the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft?
Well, it doesn’t. Nylander will return in time for the Expansion Draft and will be protected, Dach is exempt, and Toews has a no-movement clause. As far as Expansion is concerned, there’s no impact, but as far as the Blackhawks are concerned, this could be a tough season.
Chicago did surprisingly make it into the postseason bubble in 2019-2020. In fact, it even got through the best-of-five qualifying round with a 3-1 series win over the Oilers before being quickly dispatched by the Golden Knights in the first round of the real playoffs.
Notably, the Blackhawks—despite their core group of remaining veterans from the Stanley Cup teams of yore—were the youngest team to make it into the bubble. So, there’s some hope for the future.
But with the recent news that Toews is dealing with a mysterious medical issue and with the departure of Corey Crawford, there’s just no way that this team contends for at least a couple of years, barring some miraculous signings and trades.
While there may be some real talent to select from Chicago, there are no obvious cornerstone pieces that will be available. So, here’s hoping the Kraken can uncover a diamond in the youthful rough.
Assumptions
The big question is whether or not Brent Seabrook—who will almost certainly be asked to waive his no-movement clause—will actually waive his no-movement clause. If he were to agree to waive it, being that the Kraken wouldn’t touch his contract with a 10-foot hockey stick, it would allow Chicago to protect an extra player.
We will assume for the sake of this exercise that Seabrook will not waive his no-movement clause, and he will have to be protected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the Expansion Draft.
Chicago Blackhawks Protected List for Expansion Draft
Forwards
Patrick Kane (Lock, NMC)
Jonathan Toews (Lock, NMC)
Alex DeBrincat (Lock)
Dylan Strome
Alex Nylander
David Kampf
Lucas Wallmark
The thing about the Blackhawks forward group is that there isn’t a super obvious way to decide on which guys to choose in the last couple of protection slots. General manager Stan Bowman could go in a variety of directions, including exposing Kampf—who only had eight goals and eight assists last season but played all 70 games—in favor of, say, Brandon Hagel. Hagel has only played one career NHL game, but is still only 22 years old and posted 19 goals and 12 assists in 59 games with the Rockford IceHogs.
Defensemen
Duncan Keith (Lock, NMC)
Brent Seabrook (Lock, NMC – unless he agrees to waive his NMC to help the team)
Nikita Zadorov
As we mentioned in the assumptions, there is a chance Bowman will be able to get Seabrook to waive his NMC, in which case the ’Hawks would be able to protect either Connor Murphy or Lucas Carlsson.
Goalie
Collin Delia
The Blackhawks also have Malcolm Subban and Kevin Lankinen, but unless one of the three netminders emerges in mythical fashion this season, then move along, as there’s nothing to see here.
Chicago Blackhawks Targets for Expansion Draft
Forwards
Hagel is intriguing, just because of his age and the fact that he’s been a productive AHL player on the verge of becoming a regular NHLer. There is definitely a chance that he will be protected by Chicago, though, so his consideration for the Kraken could end up moot. If Hagel is protected and Kampf is exposed, then Kampf would be worth at least considering.
Defensemen
The play for Seattle is likely on the blue line. Connor Murphy, 27, has proven himself a reliable NHL defenseman. He doesn’t score many goals, but he does chip in anywhere from 15 to 20 points per season.
Another option could be Lucas Carlsson, a 23-year-old blue liner who has yet to solidify an NHL role. The Swedish defenseman played six games for the Blackhawks last season, but has put up good numbers with AHL Rockford over the past two seasons, and is certainly knocking on the door of the highest level.
Side Deal Scenarios
There’s no question that Bowman would love to get out of Seabrook’s contract, but it runs until 2024 at a cap hit of $6.875 million annually with a no-movement clause. We just can’t come up with a scenario in which Chicago is able to sweeten the pot enough to make Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis take that on.
The Chicago Blackhawks are poised to lose just one replaceable player in the Seattle Expansion Draft and will have more cap space after this season. So, side deals seem less likely here than with contending teams.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
It’s been a weird year, no doubt. Amidst everything else that has happened in 2020, hockey has played out in a very strange way. After shutting down in March, the National Hockey League completed its playoffs in a late-summer bubble. That late-summer timeframe is usually when NHL general managers go into their annual hibernation, and hockey news – trades, signings, and the like – becomes non-existent.
But with everything being thrown off the usual cycle by the pandemic, this year’s hibernation period came much later than normal. The lull that we typically see in August instead came in November and early December.
That’s over now. The GM’s are awake. NHL hockey is back on the horizon, and the lingering business is now being executed.
Here are some highlights from a recent flurry of activity around the NHL, as teams prep for the opening of training camps this week.
Unfinished Business
A hockey-related side effect of the pandemic is a decrease in money coming in for the league. After all, no fans means no gate revenue, and the NHL – which averages north of $1.3 million per game in ticket sales – certainly relies on this stream.
Everyone expected the league’s salary cap to go up this offseason, but the revenue losses instead led to a flat cap at $81.5 million for the upcoming 2020-21 campaign. The flat cap meant that general managers who were already feeling the pinch now were in even more of a bind, and in some cases desperately needed to shed salary prior to the opening of the season in January.
The pinch on teams across the league also left a pool of respected NHL veterans without jobs, including the likes of Mike Hoffman, Mikael Granlund, Anthony Duclair, and many others.
Trades
The salary cap dominos have started to fall. Of the teams that were cap-strapped, the situation for the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning seemed the most dubious.
News broke just before the Christmas holiday that former Hart Trophy winner, Nikita Kucherov, would go onto LTIR after undergoing hip surgery, and is expected to miss the entire regular season. That’s certainly not how Lightning fans hoped the team would achieve cap compliance, but the announcement was quickly followed by the re-signing of restricted free agent center, Anthony Cirelli. So, the team was obviously getting closer.
Then, GM Julien BriseBois performed some more voodoo accounting, dumping Braydon Coburn, Cedric Paquette, and a 2022 second-round pick to the Senators for the contracts of Marian Gaborik and Anders Nilsson, both of whom will be placed on LTIR and will not play this season. It’s shifty work by BriseBois, but the moves make his team cap compliant, at least to start the season.
The Senators were also involved in a trade that brought in Derek Stepan from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a second-round pick. Ottawa… is… a team.
Signings
The most fascinating “signing” (wink wink, nudge nudge) of the past few weeks is definitely Hoffman heading to St. Louis, at least for training camp. He has agreed to a professional tryout deal, which technically means that any team can still sign him. The hockey Twittersphere seems to be assuming that he will ultimately play for the Blues this season, though, despite the fact that he is currently not under an actual contract.
Hoffman will be in Blues camp and the plan is he’ll sign a 1-yr deal = $3.5-4.5m.
“I’m extremely thrilled to have the opportunity to possibly become a member of the St. Louis Blues. I’ve heard nothing but pleasant things about this team and organization.” https://t.co/3ry3v2Em4o
The expectation is that Vladimir Tarasenko – who underwent yet another shoulder surgery and is expected to be re-evaluated in February – and Alex Steen – who has retired citing back injuries – will be placed on long-term injured reserve. The team will wait to make these moves, however, until just before the season to maximize the amount of cap savings that they will receive for the LTIR designations. It’s at that point that it will have enough space to sign Hoffman.
Fascinating that we already seem to know how much Hoffman’s contract will be worth, even though he hasn’t technically been offered anything yet, isn’t it?
Hoffman has never been known for his defensive prowess, but he definitely packs an offensive punch. The 6-foot-0 forward has never scored fewer than 22 goals in a full season and has notched 65 goals and 129 points over the last two years with Florida. Assuming he actually spends the season with the Blues (sounds like he will), Hoffman will prove to be a pretty great eleventh-hour replacement for Tarasenko.
Nashville brought back Granlund on a one-year deal worth $3.75 million, and also signed his old Minnesota Wild teammate, Erik Haula, for $1.75 million. After his deadline acquisition by the Predators two seasons ago, Granlund was horrendous down the stretch. He did bounce back a bit in 2019-20, though, with 17 goals and 13 assists. He’s better than his stat lines the past couple years, so $3.75 million could work out to be a bargain.
Other Recent Signings:
Anthony Duclair to the Panthers for one year at $1.7 million
Andreas Athanasiou to the Kings for one year at $1.2 million
Corey Perry to the Canadiens for one year at $750,000
Editor’s note: This is exactly what the North Division needs—Perry running around poking guys in the nether regions.
Carl Soderberg to the Blackhawks for one year at $1 million
Ryan Miller back to the Ducks for one year at $1 million
Craig Anderson to the Capitals on a professional tryout
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
The Montreal Canadiens face some tough decisions on who to expose in the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft.
The Habs have been stuck in a lull lately having missed the playoffs three out of the four seasons prior to the 2019-20 campaign. They benefited from the expanded structure of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the last team added to the 24-team field. They (sort of) took advantage of the opportunity by knocking off the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Qualifying Round before being eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in the First Round.
After their eventual playoff exit, the Canadiens may have still looked a few years away from pushing their chips into the center of the table for a chance to compete for a Stanley Cup. However, based on his offseason roster moves, it appears general manager Marc Bergevin has a different opinion.
The Canadiens had one of the most active offseasons out of any team in the league and added significant contributors to each position.
Even before the Stanley Cup had been raised, they had already traded a third- and seventh-round draft pick to the St. Louis Blues for goalie Jake Allen. A week or two later Montreal sent a fifth-round pick to Carolina for the rights to defenseman Joel Edmundson and signed him to a four-year deal.
Then, right before the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Montreal traded point-producing center Max Domi to the Columbus Blue Jackets for talented winger Josh Anderson and promptly signed Anderson to a seven-year deal.
As if that was not enough, the Habs signed highly coveted unrestricted free agent forward Tyler Toffoli to a four-year deal.
These moves indicate that the Canadiens believe they are ready to compete. With the Expansion Draft looming, they will need to be smart to not let any of their key assets go to the Kraken.
Assumptions
The Canadiens have three significant players that are currently slated to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the 2020-21 season. Tomas Tatar (22G), Joel Armia (16G), and Phillip Danault (13G) together accounted for close to 25% of the Canadiens’ goals during the 2019-20 regular season and all will be in the last year of their respective contracts.
You can imagine that Bergevin signs at least two of them to extensions before the end of the season. A case can be made for any different combination of the three, but for now we are going to assume that two of them re-sign, specifically Tatar and Armia, while Danault hits free agency.
Our only logic for this assumption is that the Canadiens have more up-and-coming depth at center. Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi are clearly the centers of the future, if not the present. Letting Danault walk for free agency will provide the space for the younger generation, both in playing time and salary.
Protected List
There is a scenario where Montreal could go with the less common eight total skaters and one goalie selection as opposed to the 7F-3D-1G option, but we project the 7-3-1.
Forwards
Brendan Gallagher (Lock-NMC)
Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Lock)
Tyler Toffoli (Almost Lock)
Josh Anderson (Almost Lock)
Artturi Lehkonen
Tomas Tatar
Joel Armia
Again, this assumes Tatar and Armia sign extensions before the Expansion Draft. If only one re-signs, you can add Jonathan Drouin to the list of protected forwards.
Defense
Jeff Petry
Joel Edmundson
Ben Chiarot
Astute hockey fans will realize there is one significant name not on this list of protected players: Shea Weber.
Weber tied for fourth in goals scored by defensemen during the 2019-2020 NHL regular season. Weber is an elite NHL defenseman, but he will be 36 years old by the time the Seattle Kraken take the ice and will have four more seasons left on his $7.8M/year deal. Inevitably, his value will erode and Montreal could take the chance that Ron Francis disregards Weber in an attempt to build a team for the future.
Goalie
Carey Price (Lock-NMC)
We know this will disappoint Tri-City American fans, but Carey Price has a full no-movement clause and must be protected per the rules of the Expansion Draft.
Top Montreal Canadiens Expansion Draft Candidates
Forwards
Jonathan Drouin
Phillip Danault
Defense
Shea Weber
Victor Mete
Cale Fleury
Goalie
Jake Allen
If the Montreal Canadiens protected list for the Expansion Draft plays out this way exactly, then Seattle will have options at all positions. The first step might be to see if a deal can be reached for Danault during the 48-hour period when Seattle is allowed to talk to free agents exclusively.
If Danault is not interested in signing with Seattle, there are still plenty of other options. A case can be made for all the players listed above, including Allen, who could be targeted as a starter in Seattle or part of a 1a/1b combo, depending on who else is available.
Fleury and Mete could provide younger options at defense should the Kraken want a more youthful look on the blue line.
Side Deal Scenarios
The Canadiens signaled that they are trying to take a major step toward being a contender for a Stanley Cup run in the next few years. If this step works, the organization may want to keep the core intact and not lose a significant piece of their team to Seattle in the Expansion Draft.
There will be some good assets available from the Montreal Canadiens for Seattle in the Expansion Draft. Montreal might want to steer the Kraken’s selection in a certain direction by adding a prospect or draft pick to avoid losing specific assets.
That probably wasn’t the start the Americans wanted in the World Junior Championship. The first WJC game for Team USA against Russia on Christmas Day ended 5-3 with the Red Machine getting the better of the play for most of the evening.
USA was sloppy with its puck management, committing dangerous turnovers it its own end and at both blue lines, and that really was the ultimate difference in the game.
If you’re rooting for the Stars and Stripes in this tournament, though, there was some silver lining. After falling behind 4-1 in the second period, Team USA did fight back to make it a one-goal game before conceding an empty net goal in the closing minutes.
So, there’s some fight in the Americans. Even in a game with careless puck play and as high as a three-goal deficit against a talented team with the world’s best under-20 goalie, there was still a chance for victory late in the game. And that is something upon which to hang your red, white, and blue hat.
Despite the disappointing American performance, it was ridiculously fun to drink a few glasses of Christmas cheer and watch elite-level hockey. Here are the three things we learned from USA’s opening loss to Russia.
Thing 1: America’s Got Talent
Montreal Canadiens’ draft pick, Cole Caufield, got minimal playing time in the opening period Friday. Why? We have no idea.
The Wisconsin Badger was dangerous every time he touched the puck and looked faster and more shifty than anybody else when he was in control. The problem was that he didn’t get that many looks, and when he did, it was too frequently on the perimeter and trying to create opportunities for himself.
Caufield loves finding a quiet spot on the ice away from the puck and then quickly striking when a teammate finds him through a seam. That didn’t happen Friday.
Trevor Zegras (ANA) also showed why he’s considered one of USA’s top offensive threats with a late power play rocket off the post and in.
Meanwhile, Matt Boldy (MIN) was strong everywhere on the ice and Cam York (PHL) had USA’s first goal and added an assist.
There are kinks to work out for Team USA if it wants to have a chance in this WJC, and Russia exposed that. But there is real talent here, and despite the loss, there’s no reason to think USA can’t end up on the podium on January 5th.
Thing 2: Goaltending Controversy?
While Russia’s Yaroslav Askarov (NSH) has earned top billing for goalies in this tournament – and showed why on Friday with some remarkably athletic saves – Spencer Knight is one of the other netminders that has received plenty of hype and praise, including from yours truly.
Yaroslav Askarov’s legs move quicker than Ginsu knives
It probably wouldn’t have looked that bad for the Florida Panthers’ first-round draft pick, if it weren’t for his puck play outside of the crease. And frankly, Knight made a good pass on one of the his two gaffs before defenseman Jake Sanderson (OTT) turned the puck over and hung Knight out to dry.
This one was pretty bad, though, and this goal – Russia’s fourth – landed Knight on USA’s bench.
In all, Knight was credited with just four saves on eight shots Friday. Oofda.
In came Everett Silvertip and friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, Dustin Wolf (CGY). The 2019-2020 CHL Goalie of the Year came on in relief and looked solid, stopping all eleven shots he faced, including two Russian breakaways.
Knight has long been considered the de facto starter for USA, but the team would have had a better chance to win if Wolf had played the whole game.
One has to wonder now if Wolf will get more chances to start as we get deeper in the tournament. He has already been named the starter for Saturday’s contest with Austria.
Dustin Wolf (CGY) will start for Team USA tonight. #WorldJuniors
While USA head coach, Nate Leaman, has maintained all along that he plans to use both Knight and Wolf in the WJC, the preliminary round games are absolutely auditions for the quarterfinals and beyond.
Thing 3: Execution Wins Games
Execution was the achilles heel for Team USA against Russia, and that has to improve as we move along in the WJC. Turnovers in bad spots on the ice ultimately did them in against a more opportunistic and more crisp Red Machine.
A sequence four minutes into the second period summed up the contest pretty well. Bobby Brink (PHL) found himself with the puck on his stick in the slot and a gaping net in front of him, with Askarov nowhere to be found.
But Brink shanked a snap shot wide of the net. A goal there would have given USA a 2-1 lead.
Just seconds later, Maxim Groshev (TBL) hit Zakhar Bardakov with a glorious stretch pass that Bardakov promptly deposited behind Knight.
The US goes right back to work at 6:30PM Pacific on Saturday against a lesser opponent in Austria. Perhaps that will be a chance for the Americans to ramp up the execution that escaped them on Friday.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Team Canada, the hockey powerhouse of the world, is a perpetual bet to bring a stacked roster to the World Junior Championship time after time.
This year is no exception.
Twenty first-rounders make up a roster with 24 drafted prospects in all — including a tournament-high seven in the Top 10 — for Team Canada in the 2021 WJC.
Here’s how Canada’s roster shakes out.
Forwards
Team Canada posted a photo of its line combinations for a practice on Dec. 18, and it included the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft on Canada’s fourth line.
OK, Quinton Byfield probably won’t be a fourth-liner for the entire tournament. But it’s a testament to how deep and talented Canada’s forward group is.
It starts with Kirby Dach, who was loaned by the Chicago Blackhawks to Canada for the tournament. Dach, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, was playing on a national stage as recently as August.
Playing against Cole Caufield (USA forward and Canadiens prospect) and Vasili Podkolzin (Russia forward and Canucks prospect), as talented as they are, might just be a slight drop-off from playing against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Byfield, Dach, Dylan Cozens (Sabres first-round pick), Connor McMichael (Capitals first-round pick) and Dawson Mercer (Devils first-rounder) round out Canada’s returners up front from last year’s tournament in the Czech Republic.
Notably, Canada has really strong depth at center with players like Dach, Byfield, and Cozens highlighting the roster. It will allow guys like Peyton Krebs, a Golden Knights prospect and a former Winnipeg Ice star, and Connor Zary, a Flames first-rounder and a Kamloops Blazer, to move to the wings.
Defensemen
Canada’s options on the blueline are also strong.
Bowen Byram, the No. 4 overall pick by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 NHL Draft, headlines the group. The former Vancouver Giants star will likely link up with Jamie Drysdale, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Anaheim Ducks, as Canada’s top pairing.
Both Byram and Drysdale are also expected to be primary fixtures on Canada’s power play.
Canada also features two shutdown defensemen from the Western Hockey League in Prince Albert’s Kaiden Guhle (No. 16 overall to Montreal in 2020) and the Brandon Wheat Kings’ Braden Schneider (No. 19 overall to the New York Rangers).
Goalies
Ironically, Canada may rely on its only undrafted player to handle its crease for the 2021 WJC.
Taylor Gauthier, who plays for the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, has been in the Hockey Canada program since he was 16-years-old and tended goal for the Maple Leaf in the country’s gold medal finish at the 2018 under-18 Hlinka-Gretzky Tournament in 2018.
Devon Levi, a seventh-round pick by the Panthers in 2020 who plays for Northeastern University, and Dylan Garand, a fourth-round pick by the Rangers in 2020 who plays for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, are Canada’s other options in goal.
It’s unclear right now which one Canada will lean on in Edmonton.
This is perhaps Canada’s only weak spot on its roster, whereas other medal favorites, the United States and Russia, are well set up in the crease. USA boasts the Spencer Knight-Dustin Wolf tandem and Russia will go with super prospect Yaroslav Askarov.
Forward to Watch: Dylan Cozens
The Sabres prospect put up nine points for Canada last year as an underager and could be in line for another huge tournament. Cozens is projected to center Canada’s top line with Dach and fellow Buffalo first-round draft pick Jack Quinn. His combination of length (Cozens is 6-foot-3), speed, and shooting ability should be a spectacle.
Defensemen to Watch: Thomas Harley
The Stars prospect (No. 18 overall pick in 2019) is a highly-skilled rearguard who will be leaned upon to create offense for Canada. He spent last season with the Mississauga Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League but played in one playoff game with the Dallas Stars during the 2020 playoffs.
Newcomer to Watch: Cole Perfetti, Forward
It’s hard for folks out west to watch the talented junior players in the east, so the WJC will be a terrific chance to get a glimpse of the Winnipeg Jets first-rounder (No. 10 overall). Perfetti, who plays for the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, is a lethal player on the rush with a quick release on his shot and superb puck handling and totaled 111 points in 61 games last season.
But there is Canada assistant coach Mitch Love, who is a cult hero in Everett Silvertips lore. Dylan Holloway is also a former Silvertips draft pick but decided to play at Wisconsin instead.
Expectations
There’s no reason Canada can’t hold a “gold-or-bust” mantra heading into Edmonton.
Canada has elite top-end talent and astounding depth, two ingredients for a championship. Canada’s goaltending is something to keep an eye on, but the Canadians are the odds-on favorites in 2021.
Wow, big-time episode this week on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast! The guys welcome Lamont Buford, VP of Live Entertainment and Game Presentation for the Seattle Kraken, and his interview is worth the price of admission.
With Lamont Buford, the guys discuss his rise from “Puck Head” with the AHL’s Hershey Bears to where he is today, planning the in-game fan experience for the Seattle Kraken. He also humors John, Andy, and Darren with some mascot and goal song discussion and shares his opinions on some tried-and-true game presentation gimmicks. Andy also pitches to Lamont that he believes *this* should be the team mascot.
Apparently this is Sigmund the Sea Monster. Andy says he’s cool.
Also on this episode, the guys consider the huge news from earlier in the week that the NHL is officially returning to play on January 13th and what that means for Seattle.
Plus, a WHL Update, Goalie Gear Corner, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
Coming off a disappointing sixth-place finish at the 2020 World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic, Team USA is looking to get back in the medal picture.
With several highly-regarded forwards returning from last year’s team and the best goalie tandem in the tournament, the Americans’ outlook is promising.
Here’s how the roster breaks down.
Roster Outlook
Forwards
The United States’ forward group features plenty of high-end skill and will be the team’s engine if it were to make a deep run in 2021.
However, some of its high-profile players up front are seeking bounce-back tournaments.
In particular, University of Wisconsin teammates Cole Caufield (Canadiens first-round pick) and Alex Turcotte (Kings first-round pick) need to be more productive after quiet tournaments in 2020 — each had just two points in five games in last year’s tournament.
Caufield is a diminutive-but-gifted goal scorer, and Turcotte is regarded as a playmaking two-way center.
Of note: Nick Robertson, a Maple Leafs’ second-round pick in 2019, was expected to play a top-six role on this USA squad. While Kirby Dach was loaned by the Blackhawks to Team Canada, Robertson’s situation is slightly different because his spot on the Maple Leafs’ roster is less solidified than Dach’s. This makes NHL training camp far more important for Robertson, and since training camp conflicts with the WJC, he will not participate for USA.
Arthur Kaliyev, a Kings first-round pick, is expected to play on a line with Trevor Zegras and Turcotte on Team USA’s top line and is coming off a strong tournament in 2020 with six points (4-2-6)
Defensemen
Team USA’s defensive core isn’t its strength, but there are still some interesting options.
Cam York and Jake Sanderson figure to be the United States’ workhorse rearguards. Sanderson, a Senators prospect, is tied with Turcotte for the distinction of being Team USA’s highest-drafted player after he was taken No. 5 overall in October. Sanderson is one of the Americans’ strongest defenders and will be leaned upon heavily in the defensive zone.
Henry Thrun, a jack-of-all-trades type defensemen, is also expected to take on heavy minutes for the United States. The 6-foot-2 rearguard put up 21 points (3-18-21) in 31 games for Harvard last season.
Goalies
Everett Silvertips goalie Dustin Wolf will make his second straight Team USA appearance. (Brian Liesse photo)
Spencer Knight and Dustin Wolf are expected to carry the load for Team USA in what is an incredibly strong position for the Americans.
Knight handled the lion’s share of minutes for Team USA in 2020 and is expected to do so again. The Panthers first-round pick in 2019 (No. 13 overall) posted a .913 save percentage in four games played at last year’s tournament.
Wolf, the Everett Silvertips star netminder and a Calgary Flames prospect, will be the next man up. As many fans of the Western Hockey League are aware, Wolf is more than capable if he’s called into action. The 2019-20 Canadian Hockey League Goalie of the Year recorded a .935 save percentage for the Silvertips before the season was shut down due to COVID-19. Wolf is expected to at least see some game action during the tournament.
Forward to Watch: Trevor Zegras
If you watched Zegras in last year’s World Junior Championship, you saw his elite playmaking ability. Just watch this spin-o-rama pass that set up this goal for Team USA last year.
Zegras, an Anaheim Ducks first-round pick in 2019, led the Americans with nine points (0-9-9) in last year’s tournament and is Team USA’s best playmaking threat once again. Early projections have him playing on the wing — Zegras plays center for Boston College — just like he did last year for the Americans.
As a Ducks prospect, there’s a decent chance Kraken fans see plenty of Zegras in Pacific Division clashes over the years.
Defenseman to Watch: Cam York
The Flyers’ first-round pick in 2019 is expected to play big minutes for the Americans. The left-shot rearguard can play in any situation and should be a prominent figure on Team USA’s power play and penalty kill.
Newcomer to Watch: Matthew Boldy, Forward
The Boston College forward didn’t crack last year’s World Junior roster, but Boldy is expected to take on a top-six role for Team USA this time around. The No. 12 overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild put up eight points in his first four games this season for the Eagles.
Draft Watch: Matthew Beniers, Forward
Seattle Kraken fans should keep a keen eye on Beniers. The University of Michigan forward is projected to be a Top 10 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft— Scott Wheeler of The Athletic currently has him at No. 8 on his big board.
Beniers, who has six points (3-3-6) in eight games for the Wolverines, could center Team USA’s second line as an aggressive forechecker.
Third-string goalie Logan Stein is also draft eligible in 2021.
Local Angles
Wolf is the only real local angle on the Americans’ roster. The California native and reigning Canadian Hockey League Goaltender of the Year relocated with his parents to Lake Stevens, Washington after he joined the Everett Silvertips in 2017-18.
The next closest local on the roster is perhaps Sanderson, who grew up in Whitefish, Montana. If Sanderson makes the NHL, he will be the first Montana-born player to do so.
Expectations
Team USA’s overall depth isn’t where Canada’s is — it’s hard to match what the neighbors up north bring to the tournament anyway — but Team USA’s top-end talent is just as dangerous.
It might just be that Team USA goes as far as their goaltending takes them.
Knight, along with Russia goalie Yaraslov Askarov, is one of the highest regarded goalies in the tournament. USA’s best recipe for success will most likely be Knight building off last year’s experience as the American’s No. 1 option in net.
Russia and Sweden will be Team USA’s biggest threats in Group B — two teams with strong goaltending — and there’s no reason to think the Americans can’t recapture a medal in 2021 after a lackluster performance last year.
Josh Horton is a freelance writer, former newspaper journalist, and former Western Hockey League writer for the Everett Herald and The Spokesman-Review (Spokane). He is NOT a juggler, nor is he a former professional baseball player. Follow him on Twitter @byjoshhorton.
Wow, big-time episode this week on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast! The guys welcome Lamont Buford, VP of Live Entertainment and Game Presentation for the Seattle Kraken, and his interview is worth the price of admission.
With Lamont, the guys discuss his rise from “Puck Head” with the AHL’s Hershey Bears to where he is today, planning the in-game fan experience for the NHL’s 32nd franchise. He also humors John, Andy, and Darren with some mascot and goal song discussion and shares his opinions on some tried-and-true game presentation gimmicks.
Also on this episode, the guys consider the huge news from earlier in the week that the NHL is officially returning to play on January 13th and what that means for Seattle.
Plus, a WHL Update, Goalie Gear Corner, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
It is World Junior Week for us at the Sound Of Hockey The IIHF World Junior Championship is one of my favorite things about the holiday season, and with the NHL still a month away from starting, the WJC means a little bit more this year. I need my hockey fix while I wait for the NHL, and the world’s premiere under-20 tournament will provide just the kick I need to get me through. The hockey is outstanding and quite literally, the NHL’s future is on full display.
The tournament will feature the best players in this age group from 10 countries. Most of the players, particularly from the US and Canada, will play in the NHL someday. When the rosters get published, I pore through them to see who I should be watching from every team.
As they say, sharing is caring, so let us dig into the rosters to determine who we should be watching.
Draft Picks
There are 114 NHL-drafted players in the tournament this year with 44 of them being selected in the first round.
As expected, Canada and the US have the highest number of NHL-drafted players on their team.
It is mind boggling to see that Canada has a whopping 20 (!) first round draft picks on its roster.
Here is the detail of all the draft picks by NHL teams:
Leagues
Next let us look at what are the most common leagues in which these players are currently playing.
The bulk of the NCAA players are on the US team, but there are a few international players that are playing NCAA hockey right now.
US vs Canada
It is always fascinating how different the US and Canada teams are built.
I hope this gives you a bit more context and appreciation for the IIHF World Junior Championship that kicks off on Friday. All the games will be televised on NHL Network. Enjoy!
