From The Silky Mitten State: If Team USA wants to repeat at the World Junior for the first time ever, the Americans will have to replace some key pieces from last year's gold medal side. How can they pull it off?
It's a big day for Team USA and gold medals. Today in Paris, the women's soccer team will vie with Brazil for gold, then the men's basketball team will face off with the host French. And gold medals are something the U.S. knows quite a bit about at the under-20 level in men's hockey.
Barnstormers comprised the gold medal-winning American team at the 2024 World Junior in Gothenburg. They swept through the tournament, tested but once (against Finland in the semi-final) and rampaging the host Swedes 6-2 in the final, reserving the late stages of the third for fisticuffs and taunting the disappointed crowd.
There are a few key returners from that roster, not least the coaching staff led by David Carle and goaltender Trey Augustine of Michigan State and the Red Wings. However, vital organs in Will Smith, Frank Nazar, Gavin Brindley, Cutter Gauthier, Rutger McGroarty, Lane Hutson, and Seamus Casey have aged out, and none will be easily replaced.
Aug 3, 2024; Plymouth, MI, USA; Team USA celebrates their O.T. shootout win over Canada during the of the 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase at USA Hockey ArenaHowever, after a productive week in Plymouth at the World Junior Summer Showcase, it's not hard to see the Americans' route to a repeat. Team USA has become the best men's under-20 program in the world, thanks in large part to the success of the National Team Development Program (now nearly 30 years old, with USA Hockey Arena running out of room for the banners due to new NHL alumni). The Americans combination of skating and swagger has made them a World Junior force, but they've yet to ever repeat at the tournament.
To pull it off this year, the Americans won't be able to romp through the tournament the way they did last holidays in Sweden, but Carle's team will have a strong spine down the middle, and he should have quality depth options with which to grind down an opponent. Connor Earegood and I discussed this on the latest episode of The Silky Mitten State, and you can hear more about our expectations for a stylistic shift from last year's team to the newest incarnation in the featured video above.