Can the team that USA Hockey has assembled to represent the country at this year’s IIHF World Championship reach the final? Previous teams have appeared good enough on paper.

The USA’s usual M.O. at the World Championship is to bring an extremely talented but young and inexperienced team that does very well in the group stage, then sometimes wins a quarterfinal game but always falls in the semifinals. This was perhaps never more apparent than in 2023 when the USA won eight straight games with Rocco Grimaldi and T.J. Tynan racking up points. But they then lost the semifinal to Germany and the bronze-medal game to Latvia – both in overtime after allowing a late equalizing goal. 

In fact, the USA is 0-12 in semifinal games since the IIHF introduced a playoff format to the Worlds in 1992. The USA has not won a silver medal at a stand-alone World Championship since 1950 or a gold since 1933.

With Tage Thompson, Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley and defenseman Zach Werenski, this team certainly has some high skill, although it ranks behind Canada, Sweden and possibly some other teams in terms of overall talent. What’s strikingly different about this team compared to some past editions, however, is that almost every player is an everyday NHLer, save for the four college players and Frank Nazar, who played 21 AHL games this season. Every other skater played at least 65 NHL games and goalies Jeremy Swayman and Joey Daccord played 58 and 57, respectively.

This is still a young team but it's not short on experience in the NHL or internationally. Ten players on the team are at least 26 years old and seven have played more than 300 NHL games, led by Brady Skjei's 691. Fourteen players on the roster have played in the Worlds before and many have performed well, particularly Conor Garland and Shane Pinto, who have both scored at better than a point per game.

It’s impossible to know until the games get played, but could this be the team that finally puts the USA into the World Championship final?

Goaltenders: Joey Daccord (Seattle Kraken), Jeremy Swayman (Boston Bruins), Hampton Slukynsky (Western Michigan University, NCAA / Los Angeles Kings).

Defensemen: Michael Kesselring (Utah HC), Jackson LaCombe (Anaheim Ducks), Andrew Peeke, Mason Lohrei (both Boston), Brady Skjei (Nashville Predators), Alex Vlasic (Chicago Blackhawks), Cole Hutson (Boston University, NCAA / Washington Capitals), Zeev Buium (University of Denver, NCAA / Minnesota Wild), Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets).

Forwards: Matty Beniers, Michael Eyssimont (both Seattle), Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, Josh Doan (all Utah), Drew O’Connor, Conor Garland (both Vancouver Canucks), Cutter Gauthier (Anaheim), Michael McCarron (Nashville), Frank Nazar (Chicago), Tage Thompson (Buffalo Sabres), Will Smith (San Jose Sharks), Isaac Howard (Michigan State University, NCAA / Tampa Bay Lightning), Shane Pinto (Ottawa Senators).

Crosby, MacKinnon, Fleury Bring Canada’s World Championship Roster Up To 18 Canada originally named 15 players to the team it will take to this year’s IIHF World Championship in Sweden and Denmark. On Sunday, after the team played a pre-tournament game in Vienna against Austria, Hockey Canada announced that Sidney Crosby would join the team. Also on Sunday, a day after his Colorado Avalanche were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs,<i> The Athletic</i> reported that Nathan MacKinnon will join the team as well. Then on Monday, goaltender Marc-André Fleury announced that he would also go to play in his first-ever World Championship.