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Bill Guerin Named GM Of U.S. Four Nations And Olympic Teams

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Minnesota Wild president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin has been named the general manager of Team USA for the upcoming 2025 NHL Four Nations Face-Off as well as the 2026 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team. The announcement was made official this morning and allows the three-time U.S. Olympian to take some time before selecting his first six players for the Four Nations tournament, which is something the NHL has asked each team to do early this summer.

Guerin is no stranger to donning the American sweater as he suited up for three Olympics in 1998, 2002, and 2006, winning a silver medal in 2002. He was also a member of the 1996 Team USA World Cup team that shocked the hockey world and created one of the most iconic moments in USA hockey history when they beat Team Canada to win the tournament. Guerin is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, having been inducted back in 2013.

Guerin retired from playing in 2010 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and then spent eight seasons with the team in management, winning two Stanley Cups. He was then named general manager of the Wild in August 2019 and guided Minnesota to four consecutive playoff appearances before being named president of hockey operations and general manager last July.

Guerin made sweeping changes in Minnesota during his nearly five years with the franchise with his biggest moves being the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Now he is tasked with putting together a collection of American players who can bring home gold in two separate tournaments and could be the favourite in both. Team Canada will have arguably the best forward group in both tournaments; however, the Americans will likely boast the most well-rounded team, something that Guerin and his staff will start to look at in the coming months.

USA Wins 2024 World Junior Championship

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With their victory over Team Sweden this afternoon, Team USA has officially won the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship, taking home the gold medal for the sixth time since the tournament’s inception in 1977. The game-winning goal would come in the second period, as Michigan State University product, Isaac Howard, put away the deciding marker relatively early on in the game.

Team USA will now move alone into third place in total gold medals in the tournament’s history after being tied with Finland with five since 2021. Team Russia/Soviet Union is in second place with eight gold medals, while Team Canada is in front by a large margin with a whopping 20 gold medals in the tournament’s history.

After leading Team Czechia in scoring in last year’s tournament, Buffalo Sabres’ prospect, Jiri Kulich, would lead the entire tournament this year, scoring six goals and 12 points in seven games. Tied in the lead with Kulich was Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect, Cutter Gauthier of Team USA, scoring two goals and 12 points in seven games.

Outside of Team USA bringing home the gold, and Team Sweden taking home the silver medal, Team Czechia would go on to defeat Team Finland in a high-scoring game this morning, winning their second bronze medal in tournament history. Now, the players from each respective country will return back to their regular teams, before the exciting tournament returns next year in Ottawa.

USA Hockey Announces Roster For Upcoming World Juniors

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With the start of the World Juniors now just a week and a half away, rosters for the event are starting to be finalized.  The latest to do so is Team USA with USA Hockey announcing (Twitter link) their full squad for the tourney.  The team lines up as follows with their NHL affiliation in parentheses.

Goalies

Trey Augustine (DET)
Jacob Fowler (MTL)
Sam Hillebrandt

Defense

Zeev Buium
Seamus Casey (NJ)
Ryan Chesley (WSH)
Drew Fortescue (NYR)
Lane Hutson (MTL)
Aram Minnetian (DAL)
Eric Pohlkamp (SJ)
Sam Rinzel (CHI)

Forwards

Gavin Brindley (CBJ)
Quinn Finley (NYI)
Cutter Gauthier (PHI)
Gavin Hayes (CHI)
Isaac Howard (TB)
Ryan Leonard (WSH)
Rutger McGroarty (WPG)
Oliver Moore (CHI)
Frank Nazar (CHI)
Danny Nelson (NYI)
Gabriel Perreault (NYR)
Will Smith (SJ)
Jimmy Snuggerud (STL)
Casey Terrance (ANA)

As expected, it’s a roster that has many NHL prospects on it, including two of the top eight selections from the draft back in June.  Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are well-represented in this group with four prospects making the cut.

Corey Pronman of The Athletic points out (Twitter link) that there are still two cuts that will need to be made before the roster is formally registered for the tournament.  With 14 forwards and eight blueliners on the roster, it stands to reason that one will be trimmed from each of those groups.  However, those cuts will serve as standby injury replacements so they will still make the trek to Sweden for the event, which gets underway in Gothenburg, Sweden on December 26th.

USA Hockey Announces Preliminary 2024 WJC Roster

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The best time of the year for prospect watchers is right around the corner. The 2024 edition of the IIHF World Junior Championship begins later this month, as normal, on December 26. This year’s event will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden, which was initially slated to host the event in 2022 but needed to be rescheduled due to COVID restrictions.

USA Hockey today announced their 29-player preliminary roster for the event, which will need to be trimmed to 25 before event rosters are due. This year, they’ll be participating in Group B alongside Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Norway and are considered the favorites to win the group with one of the more highly talented rosters we’ve seen from the Americans in a number of years.

The Coyotes are not loaning star youngster Logan Cooley to the US for the event, the Blue Jackets are not loaning Adam Fantilli, nor did USA Hockey select 2024 projected second-overall pick Cole Eiserman to the preliminary roster. Nonetheless, it’s a stacked group of prospects that will once again challenge for a medal. The full roster is as follows:

F Gavin Brindley (Blue Jackets, 2023, 34th overall)
F Quinn Finley (Islanders, 2022, 78th overall)
F Cutter Gauthier (Flyers, 2022, 5th overall)
F James Hagens (2025 draft-eligible)
F Gavin Hayes (Blackhawks, 2022, 66th overall)
F Isaac Howard (Lightning, 2022, 31st overall)
F Ryan Leonard (Capitals, 2023, 8th overall)
F Rutger McGroarty (Jets, 2022, 14th overall)
F Oliver Moore (Blackhawks, 2023, 19th overall)
F Frank Nazar (Blackhawks, 2022, 13th overall)
F Danny Nelson (Islanders, 2023, 49th overall)
F Gabriel Perreault (Rangers, 2023, 23rd overall)
F Will Smith (Sharks, 2023, 4th overall)
F Jimmy Snuggerud (Blues, 2022, 23rd overall)
F Carey Terrance (Ducks, 2023, 59th overall)
F William Whitelaw (Blue Jackets, 2023, 66th overall)

D Zeev Buium (2024 draft-eligible)
D Seamus Casey (Devils, 2022, 46th overall)
D Ryan Chesley (Capitals, 2022, 37th overall)
D Drew Fortescue (Rangers, 2023, 90th overall)
D Patrick Geary (went undrafted in 2022, 2023)
D Lane Hutson (Canadiens, 2022, 62nd overall)
D Jake Livanavage (went undrafted in 2022, 2023)
D Aram Minnetian (Stars, 2023, 125th overall)
D Eric Pohlkamp (Sharks, 2023, 132nd overall)
D Sam Rinzel (Blackhawks, 2022, 25th overall)

G Trey Augustine (Red Wings, 2023, 41st overall)
G Jacob Fowler (Canadiens, 2023, 69th overall)
G Sam Hillebrandt (went undrafted in 2023)

There are eight returning members from last year’s team, which captured the bronze medal: Augustine, Brindley, Casey, Chesley, Gauthier, Hutson, McGroarty, and Snuggerud. The Blackhawks lead the way with prospects represented on the preliminary roster with four.

List Of NHL Prospects Attending 2023 World Junior Summer Showcase

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Today, the 2023 World Junior Summer Showcase got off to a raucous start. The four-team friendly summer tune-up tournament includes two contingents from the United States (a Blue team and a White team), as well as rosters from Sweden and Finland. All teams are made up of U20 players eligible for the 2024 World Junior Championships set to kick off in December, and the showcase tournament provides a chance for national organizations of three of the best hockey countries in the world to evaluate things like physical readiness and line chemistry that come into play when deciding on final rosters for the real deal in winter.

Unfortunately for the United States, both teams lost their opening games today at home in Plymouth, Michigan, rather decidedly – USA Blue dropped the tournament opener to Sweden by a score of 7-0, while USA White fared much better but still lost to Finland, 4-2.

There are a couple of notable draft-eligible players suiting up at this tournament for the US. Team White boasts presumptive 2024 top-two pick Cole Eiserman among their forward core, while Team Blue has 2025 top prospect James Hagens in the mix at center (he even dressed on their first line today). The Finns also boast a pair of high-level 2024-eligible prospects in defenseman Aron Kiviharju and forward Konsta Helenius.

That being said, the games for this tournament are available to watch for free online, and information on this can be found through USA Hockey’s social media channels. With that in mind, it’s of interest to NHL fans to see which of your team’s prospects is suiting up at this mid-summer exhibition tournament in advance of the biggest few days in junior hockey:

Anaheim Ducks – F Carey Terrance (USA White)

Arizona Coyotes – F Samu Bau (Finland), F Tanner Ludtke (USA White)

Buffalo Sabres – F Anton Wahlberg (Sweden)

Calgary Flames – F Topi Rönni (Finland)

Carolina Hurricanes – F Cruz Lucius (USA Blue), F Felix Unger Sörum (Sweden)

Chicago Blackhawks – F Gavin Hayes (USA Blue), F Oliver Moore (USA Blue), F Frank Nazar (USA White), D Sam Rinzel (USA White)

Columbus Blue Jackets – F Gavin Brindley (USA Blue), F William Whitelaw (USA White)

Detroit Red Wings – D Anton Johansson (Sweden), D Axel Sandin Pellikka (Sweden), G Trey Augustine (USA White)

Florida Panthers – G Tyler Muszelik (USA White)

Los Angeles Kings – D Otto Salin (Finland), G Hampton Slukynsky (USA White)

Minnesota Wild – F Charlie Stramel (USA White)

Montreal Canadiens – D Lane Hutson (USA White), G Jacob Fowler (USA Blue)

Nashville Predators – F Jesse Kiiskinen (Finland), F Felix Nilsson (Sweden), D Kasper Kulonummi (Finland)

New Jersey Devils – F Lenni Hämeenaho (Finland), D Seamus Casey (USA Blue), D Charlie Leddy (USA Blue)

New York Islanders – F Quinn Finley (USA Blue), F Danny Nelson (USA Blue), F Jessi Nurmi (Finland), D Calle Odelius (Sweden), D Zach Schulz (USA White)

New York Rangers – F Gabe Perreault (USA Blue), D Drew Fortescue (USA White)

Ottawa Senators – F Oskar Pettersson (Sweden), G Kevin Reidler (Sweden)

Philadelphia Flyers – F Cutter Gauthier (USA White), F Devin Kaplan (USA White), F Cole Knuble (USA Blue)

Pittsburgh Penguins – D Emil Pieniniemi (Finland)

San Jose Sharks – F Filip Bystedt (Sweden), F Kasper Halttunen (Finland), F Cam Lund (USA Blue), F Quentin Musty (USA Blue), F Will Smith (USA Blue), D Mattias Hävelid (Sweden), D Eric Pohlkamp (USA White)

Seattle Kraken – F Zeb Forsfjäll (Sweden), F Jani Nyman (Finland), G Niklas Kokko (Finland), G Visa Vedenpää (Finland)

St. Louis Blues – F Jimmy Snuggerud (USA White), F Otto Stenberg (Sweden), D Paul Fischer (USA Blue), D Theo Lindstein (Sweden)

Tampa Bay Lightning – F Isaac Howard (USA White)

Vancouver Canucks – D Hunter Brzustewicz (USA Blue), D Jackson Dorrington (USA White), D Elias Pettersson (Sweden)

Vegas Golden Knights – F David Edstrom (Sweden)

Washington Capitals – F Ryan Leonard (USA White), F Alexander Suzdalev (Sweden), D Ryan Chesley (USA White)

Winnipeg Jets – F Rutger McGroarty (USA White), F Fabian Wagner (Sweden), D Garrett Brown (USA Blue), D Elias Salomonsson (Sweden)

The Sharks lead the way with seven representatives at the tournament, led by 2023 fourth-overall pick Will Smith. Only five teams have no affiliated prospects at the showcase – the Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

USA Hockey Adds Tyler Kleven To World Championship Roster

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After a 2-0 start to the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championship, USA Hockey announced after today’s win against Hungary they’ve added Ottawa Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven to their tournament roster.

Kleven, who registered two assists in eight games down the stretch of the 2022-23 season with Ottawa, could suit up when the United States faces Germany in continued round-robin play tomorrow. The 21-year-old second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft signed his entry-level contract with Ottawa after the end of his junior season at the University of North Dakota.

While this will be Kleven’s first World Championship appearance, he’s no stranger to the United States national program. He played with the National Team Development Program for two seasons before joining North Dakota in 2020-21 and played for Team USA at the 2021 and 2022 IIHF Men’s World Junior Championship, recording one point in a combined seven games between tournaments.

Kleven brings an added layer of size and physicality to the American roster, becoming the third defender on the team who stands at least 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds (Nicklaus Perbix, Dylan Samberg). A defensive player first and foremost, Kleven will try and shut down some of the tougher opponents remaining on the Americans’ group schedule, namely Germany and Sweden.

USA Hockey Announces First 22 Players For 2023 Worlds

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The first 22 players that will compete for Team USA at the upcoming IIHF World Hockey Championship have been named, with an interesting mix of NHL experience and college excitement.

Lane Hutson is the youngest player in the group at just 19 years old, and he’ll be sharing the ice with 35-year-old Nick Bonino, the oldest. General manager Chris Clark released the following:

The depth of our player pool is reflected with our team and we’re excited about the group we have to represent our country at the world championship. We’ve got a great mix of experience and youth and most of our players have represented the U.S. before and know what it takes to be successful at a world championship.

The team will start training on Saturday in Munich, before a pre-tournament game on Tuesday. The tournament schedule for the U.S. begins next Friday, against Finland.

Here’s a look at the 22 players that have made the team so far:

G Casey DeSmith
G Drew Commesso
G Cal Petersen

D Henry Thrun
D Connor Mackey
D Ronnie Attard
D Dylan Samberg
D Scott Perunovich
D Lane Hutson
D Nick Perbix

F Samuel Walker
F Drew O’Connor
F Luke Tuch
F Nick Bonino
F T.J. Tynan
F Cutter Gauthier
F Sean Farrell
F Anders Bjork
F Matthew Coronato
F Conor Garland
F Alex Tuch
F Carter Mazur

Team USA Announces 2023 World Juniors Roster

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With the World Juniors rapidly approaching, Team USA needed to make a final round of cuts to prepare its 25-man WJC roster. With Ryan Leonard, Jack Devine, Shai Buium, and Tyler Muszelik sent home, the 25-man roster has been settled. Team USA will begin their tournament taking on Latvia on December 26th. The players are as follows:

Goaltenders (3)

Trey Augustine – 2023 Draft Eligible

Kaidan Mbereko – 2023 Draft Eligible

Andrew Oke – 2023 Draft Eligible

Defensemen (8)

Sean Behrens –  (COL)

Seamus Casey – (NJD)

Ryan Chesley – (WSH)

Luke Hughes – (NJD)

Lane Hutson – (MTL)

Luke Mittelstadt – 2023 Draft Eligible

Jack Peart – (MIN)

Ryan Ufko – (NSH)

Forwards (14)

Jackson Blake – (CAR)

Gavin Brindley – 2023 Draft Eligible

Tyler Boucher – (OTT)

Kenny Connors – (LAK)

Logan Cooley – (ARZ)

Dylan Duke – (TBL)

Cutter Gauthier – (PHI)

Noah Laba – (NYR)

Sam Lipkin – (ARZ)

Chaz Lucius – (WPG)

Rutger McGroarty – (WPG)

Red Savage – (DET)

Jimmy Snuggerud – (STL)

Charlie Stramel – 2023 Draft Eligible

This team is likely to be highlighted by a first line comprised entirely of highly-drafted NHL prospects. The trio of top 2022 picks  Gauthier, Cooley, and Snuggerud could be a treat to watch, and the Americans’ depth at forward combined with their talented blueliners such as Hughes, Hutson, and Chesley should make this team a strong contender for a medal. While the situation in the crease is a bit less stable, the WJC will provide twice-undrafted goalie Mbereko a major stage to showcase why he should be picked next year.

USA Hockey Announces Preliminary 2023 WJC Roster

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The 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship is rapidly approaching, with things set to kick off on the afternoon of December 26 with a match between Switzerland and Finland. Team USA will start their tournament later that day against Latvia. Today, the organization released the preliminary roster for the upcoming camp.

The group will be pared down closer to the tournament but currently includes:

F Jackson Blake (CAR 109th overall, 2021)
F Gavin Brindley (2023 draft eligible)
F Tyler Boucher (OTT 10th overall, 2021)
F Kenny Connors (LAK 103rd overall, 2022)
F Logan Cooley (ARI 3rd overall, 2022)
F Jack Devine (FLA 221st overall, 2022)
F Dylan Duke (TBL 126th overall, 2021)
F Cutter Gauthier (PHI 5th overall, 2022)
F Noah Laba (NYR 111th overall, 2022)
F Ryan Leonard (2023 draft eligible)
F Samuel Lipkin (ARI 223rd overall, 2021)
F Chaz Lucius (WPG 18th overall, 2021)
F Cameron Lund (SJS 34th overall, 2022)
F Rutger McGroarty (WPG 14th overall, 2022)
F Red Savage (DET 114th overall, 2021)
F Will Smith (2023 draft eligible)
F Jimmy Snuggerud (STL 23rd overall, 2022)
F Charlie Stramel (2023 draft eligible)

D Sean Behrens (COL 61st overall, 2021)
D Shai Buium (DET 36th overall, 2021)
D Seamus Casey (NJD 46th overall, 2022)
D Ryan Chesley (WSH 37th overall, 2022)
D Aidan Hreschuk (CBJ 94th overall, 2021)
D Luke Hughes (NJD 4th overall, 2021)
D Lane Hutson (MTL 62nd overall, 2022)
D Luke Mittelstadt (undrafted)
D Jack Peart (MIN 54th overall, 2021)
D Ryan Ufko (NSH 115th overall, 2021)

G Trey Augustine (2023 draft eligible)
G Kaidan Mbereko (undrafted)
G Tyler Muszelik (FLA 189th overall, 2022)
G Andrew Oke (undrafted)

The camp will be held in Plymouth, Michigan between December 12-17, at which point a 23-man roster will be selected.

USA Hockey Names Chris Clark GM Of 2023 National Team

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After a disappointing fourth-place finish at this year’s World Championship, USA Hockey has made some changes for next year. Chris Clark, director of player personnel for the Columbus Blue Jackets, will take over as general manager, replacing Ryan Martin who served in the role for just one tournament.

Supporting Clark, who is still relatively young in his front office executive career, will be an advisory group that brings a ton of experience. Kevyn Adams, Chris Drury, Tom Fitzgerald, Mike Grier, Bill Guerin, Lou Lamoriello, Chris MacFarland, Don Waddell, and Bill Zito will all be there to help in the player selection process.

John Vanbiesbrouck, assistant executive director of USA Hockey, released a statement explaining the choice:

We’re excited to have Chris leading efforts in building the roster for our team. He knows the player pool extremely well, and as someone who has played at the highest levels of the game and is now in a management role in the NHL. He is well versed in what it takes to win.

Clark has served as general manager of the Cleveland Monsters for the past several seasons and played 11 seasons in the NHL. In fact, he has experience playing the international tournament, even captaining Team USA in 2007.

After his retirement, he joined the Blue Jackets first as a scout, then in the player development department, before receiving his current position in 2019. This appointment is another step on what looks to be a future-GM track, one very similar to the path Drury took over the last several years.

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