Talent thins as Team USA finalizes its World Junior squad. Kraken prospect cut.
Team USA released its final roster for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship on December 24th, just two days before preliminaries are scheduled to begin. This last round of cuts started Monday the 22nd when the team released Trevor Connelly (Vegas GoldenKnights prospect) due to injury and Henry Brzustewicz (drafted by the Los Angeles Kings).
After their final exhibition game against Finland on the 23rd, the team released two more players: New York Islanders prospect Jacob Kvasnicka and the Kraken's Blake Fiddler. Fiddler was drafted by the Kraken 36th overall in the second round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
It is not surprising that the team hung on to Fiddler for so long; he has international experience representing the USA in both the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2025 U18 World Championship, and showed well in preseason outings with the Kraken. Currently, Fiddler plays for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL where he has racked up 5 goals and 13 assists in 28 games played, and is +12 on the season.
With another year of eligibility in 2027, Blake still has a chance to represent USA on the World Juniors stage. In the meantime, he will return to Edmonton and pick up his season with the Oil Kings. The team are ranked 3rd in the Eastern Conference with a 21-7-4 record.
Team USA will take the ice for their first preliminary matchup again Germany on December 26th, 3pm pacific.