WJC: WJC Rosters - United States

[Trxjw]

Do you guys think that Derek Stepan will put up a decent amount of points this tourny?

Depends on how good the PP is, IMO. I think he'll end up on the 2nd unit since he and Schroeder play the same spot (IIRC), which is going to limit his production a bit.

He's a very intelligent player with great hands, but his speed is going to hurt him when encountering some of the more mobile blue lines in the tourney in terms of generating offense off the rush.

I'm absolutely thrilled to see 3 Ranger prospects making the cut, but like many others, I'm surprised by Nicastro getting the axe. We're not particularly tough on the back end.

 

[zackisonfire]

Nicastro was playing terrific hard nosed hockey and was a true physical presence out there on the ice nearly every shift yet he was cut. Perhaps he was cut for his lack of offensive capabilities which is strange considering the quality of puck moving defensemen we already have on the team.

Must have seen something they didn't like.

 

[ecemleafs]

Do you guys think that Derek Stepan will put up a decent amount of points this tourny?

hes a playmaker so the guys he creating plays for will need to finish.

 

[cagney]

So Nicastro and Brown were cut. That's a pretty big cut as far as team toughness goes.

 

[The Exiled One]

USA Hockey recap:

http://usahockey.com/world_junior_championships_2010/default.aspx?id=274714

USA Goals:

1) Kreider (Donovan, Fowler) PP
3) Bourque (McRae, Palmieri)

Czech Goals:

1) Kubalik (Kousal, Kovar)
2) Hlinka (Kubalik, Kousal)
SO) Hlinka (goal)

USA Goalies:

Campbell - 17 saves on 18 shots
Lee - 13 saves on 15 shots

Czech Goalie:

Sedlacek - 42 saves on 44 shots

Power Play: USA 1-9; CZE 0-1

Now it's hard to tell how well Sedlacek played as I only heard the 2nd period on the radio feed posted earlier (where the announcers were raving during certain points about his stops) but the US has got to get that PP going. For a team that doesn't have a go to scoring line to rely on like some other teams (or their own of years past), they can't afford to go 1-9 on PPs and expect to win much of anything.

The announcers were also very complimentary of Jack Campbell's play for the first half of the game, and the half of the 2nd where Lee was in they said he was shaky.

Shootout goals don't count against goaltenders, so technically, Lee stopped 13 of 14. Of course, that doesn't mean he couldn't look shakey or have let in a softie... but his SV% for the game was officially .928

 

[wings5]

I start to question some of the roster moves and wonder If they could make a stronger US aquad with the players that were left off i.e Moore, Leddy, Wahl, Budish etc could make a good team. Let me try this:

Czarnik-Wahl-Budish
Saad-Brown-Shore
Saponari-Wohlberg-Etem
Hanowski-Lynch-Ryan
Nieto,Callahan,

Moore-Leddy
Ness-Nicastro
Dumoulin-Wrenn
Comrie,Pateryn,Helgeson

Knapp
Maxwell

 

[Rabid Ranger]

So Nicastro and Brown were cut. That's a pretty big cut as far as team toughness goes.

Yeah, kind of surprising given how Blais normally constructs his teams. I get the feeling they think Carlson is going to be some sort of superman on the blueline. He might, but you can't rely on one player too much. In the end, they have two studs on the backline and a nice mix of differant playing styles to round the rest. I'm not sure Nicastro is that much of a differance maker (he has struggled at BU this year) to have this much focus on him.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Nicastro was playing terrific hard nosed hockey and was a true physical presence out there on the ice nearly every shift yet he was cut. Perhaps he was cut for his lack of offensive capabilities which is strange considering the quality of puck moving defensemen we already have on the team.

Must have seen something they didn't like.

I don't think Nicastro's lack of offense (which isn't all that lacking) was the factor here. It's clear to me that Carlson and Fowler will be leaned on to set the tone, Donovan and Warsofsky will be the more overt offensive threats, Lashoff and Ramage the conservative types, and Gardiner the wildcard.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Surprised Brown got cut.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Surprised Brown got cut.

If I would divide the forwards up, it would look something like this:

Top six:

Bourque, Krieder, Morin, Palmieri, Schroeder, and Stepan

3rd line:

Jenks, Kristo, and McRae

4th line:

D'Amigo, Walker, and Johnson

13th forward:

Zucker

Obviously players can move up and down (I think Zucker will be used more heavily), but when you get down to the nuts and bolts of it, Blais and co look for speed, tenacity, and grit amongst the forwards, and while Brown is a physical player, to me, the named players exemplify the team strategy better. We'll see how things turn out.

 

[Chris Roberts]

Surprised Brown got cut.

As am I. I guess they want Zucker to get some experience for next year?

And as for Nicastro, I thought it would be Lashoff that got sent home. Really not sure about him.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

As am I. I guess they want Zucker to get some experience for next year?

And as for Nicastro, I thought it would be Lashoff that got sent home. Really not sure about him.

I wouldn't be so quick to label Zucker as the 13th forward. That might be what role he has on paper, but he's been pretty noticable. I think he'll make a dent. Having 13 forwards allows for some flexibility. As for Nicastro/Lashoff, I figured Lashoff was a lock from the time he was named to the December camp. My guess is his inclusion was lobbied for pretty hard by a member of the staff. Personally, if he does his job he won't be mentioned all that much.

 

[jake1]

And as for Nicastro, I thought it would be Lashoff that got sent home. Really not sure about him.

It just shows USA's continued bias in favor of CHL players.

 

[cagney]

I'm not sure Nicastro is that much of a differance maker (he has struggled at BU this year) to have this much focus on him.

I don't think Nicastro or Brown would be huge difference makers either. Still, they are probably two of the guys most likely to bring some physicality to the game of what was left on the roster. I guess it's just a little surprising.

 

[Em Ancien]

Who's getting the letters?

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I don't think Nicastro or Brown would be huge difference makers either. Still, they are probably two of the guys most likely to bring some physicality to the game of what was left on the roster. I guess it's just a little surprising.

Blais has never been big on huge bangers, especially at forward. He favors speed and grit, which this team has in spades. As for the defense, it has good size (roughly the same overall as Canada's), but no real maniacs back there. It's probable size and positional play won out over hitting prowness. At the end of the day, we all know who is going to get the most minutes: Carlson and Fowler. It's like 2004 when Suter, Stuart, and Wisniewski were leaned on heavily. Does anyone remember the impact of Jeff freaking Likens?

 

[William H Bonney]

Shootout goals don't count against goaltenders, so technically, Lee stopped 13 of 14. Of course, that doesn't mean he couldn't look shakey or have let in a softie... but his SV% for the game was officially .928

Whoops, didn't even notice that. I just copy and pasted from the USA Hockey report.

 

[William H Bonney]

Some insight into the final team from NHL.com:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=510922

- The players are going to vote on the captains.

- on John Ramage's surprise inclusion...

"He gave us the real physical part of the game we needed," said Blais. "We need defensemen who can make the outlet passes and make plays, but you need bangers back there. Ramage gives that to us. When it comes right down to it … we need Ramage and his physical presence maybe more than John Moore and his puck-moving ability and his skill."

- Blais said he had not made a decision on who his starting goaltender would be. Campbell and Mike Lee, a 2009 third-round pick of the Coyotes, split the two exhibition games, and Blais said each will get a chance in the first two WJC games -- Saturday against Slovakia and Sunday against Switzerland (4 p.m. ET, NHLN-US).

- Blais and company didn't want to take Jason Zucker but he was too good to pass up. They also didn't think Luke Walker would be healthy enough to participate but he proved himself in time.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Some insight into the final team from NHL.com:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=510922

- The players are going to vote on the captains.

- on John Ramage's surprise inclusion...

- Blais said he had not made a decision on who his starting goaltender would be. Campbell and Mike Lee, a 2009 third-round pick of the Coyotes, split the two exhibition games, and Blais said each will get a chance in the first two WJC games -- Saturday against Slovakia and Sunday against Switzerland (4 p.m. ET, NHLN-US).

- Blais and company didn't want to take Jason Zucker but he was too good to pass up. They also didn't think Luke Walker would be healthy enough to participate but he proved himself in time.

Like the choices or not, there's at least a method to the madness. Blais and co have cleary taken a measured approach to putting this team together. I anticipate a ton of effort and grit.

 

[Bgav]

Any news on the letters?

lol they're taking forever!

 

[Grabovski]

Who do you guys think will put up more points on Defense, John Carlson or Jake Gardiner?

 

[ecemleafs]

Who do you guys think will put up more points on Defense, John Carlson or Jake Gardiner?

carlson. carlson is a lot better and will get more time on the ice.

 

[Addison Rae]

Any news on the letters?

lol they're taking forever!

This.

 

[Levitate]

Gotta admit I'm excited about Kreiders success in the exhibition games and hope he keeps it up in the regular games...obviously it'll be tougher but he has the skill to be a valuable player for team USA, so hopefully he's up for the task

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

Lol at all the Canucks fan asking when they will announce captaincy.