WJC: WJC Rosters - United States

[William H Bonney]

Campbell had thousands of Canadian fans cheering his name, hoping to disrupt him. For a young kid, that's really freaking tough. He's only 17 and handled it like a pro. Didn't let anything get to him and made some fantastic saves.

ICE in his veins.

You nailed it. Not only that, but he came into the middle of the gold medal game after riding the pine to a team that was on it's heels of the debacle that was Mike Lee's goaltending. After losing the NYE game, and being harassed by every fan there, I said in the NYR WJC thread that Campbell was either going to steal the game for us or he'd collapse. He didn't steal it, but he was a huge part of it.

Amazing to think he'll be back in the Under 18 Championships too, where he won it for the US as an underage player as well just recently.

 

[AmericanDream]

You nailed it. Not only that, but he came into the middle of the gold medal game after riding the pine to a team that was on it's heels of the debacle that was Mike Lee's goaltending. After losing the NYE game, and being harassed by every fan there, I said in the NYR WJC thread that Campbell was either going to steal the game for us or he'd collapse. He didn't steal it, but he was a huge part of it.

Amazing to think he'll be back in the Under 18 Championships too, where he won it for the US as an underage player as well just recently.

n

not too many doubts left as to just how good he is...top 25 come June in my eyes.

those fans were idiotic, they should of been more concerned with their own goalie who couldn't stop a beach ball, then trying to chant out Campbell's name... it didnt work, the kid was stone cold.

 

[Konk]

Still wondering where Konk went after telling me that Stepan was really far from a lock.

Yeah, I left because of you.

So saying he isn't a lock like you believe is the same as far from a lock? I'll admit, Stepan stepped his game up to a new level and I didn't think he had it in him. His play/role reminded me of Parise in 2004 in a lot of ways. I know Ranger fans like to think they're the only ones that knew about him, that's fine. I've watched him for longer than you've known how to pronounce his name. Just because I doubted his ability to reach this level doesn't mean I didn't know who he was.

I could also go on about how I was one of the only ones on this board for the past few years who have been able to contribute on players like Bourque, Ramage, Campbell, and in particular D'Amigo. Do you see me saying "I told you so" about D'Amigo? Go read my post history about him. I think I'm the only person on this board not surprised by his play or Bourque's. This generation of NTDP alums are the hardest working I have ever seen and it isn't the first time I've said that on here. Stepan fit in quite nicely with their smart, hard working play. However, that also doesn't mean they have the highest of upsides. I still don't see Stepan as an all-star first line center in the NHL as you and others believe. They are collectively just talented enough, to go along with their great heart, work ethic, smarts, poise, discipline, and never-say-die attitudes to be stars at the junior/college level. They'll be Joe Pavelskis and Ryan Callahans at the NHL level if they reach their peaks.

Everytime a player that's unknown to fans of the other 29 teams does well in this tournament the fans of that team will always come out with a "we knew about him and you underestimated him!" crap. Well I don't have an emotional attachment, sorry. I look at ability and potential and compare it to trends of the past and hope for the best. Sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong.

 

[William H Bonney]

"We played Canadian hockey," he said. "We played gritty, we blocked shots, we backchecked hard, we had a tryout camp. You learn from the best. It's not an accident (Canada) won five straight gold medals. It's not an accident (Canada) put guys in the National Hockey League. I wanted gritty players, I wanted guys that would block shots and work at both ends of the rink. If we didn't have success I could live with myself. I didn't want a bunch of Fancy Dans that wouldn't play both ends, that were cocky and arrogant. I didn't have that team."

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=512507

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Frankly, I just think your bias against the kid is because you're an Islanders fan. Just my opinion. Glad to see you actually responded, though.

I found it highly annoying when you were marginalizing him before and now you're doing it again. Oh well. Guess an Islanders fan can't give credit to the kid.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=512507

Such an awesome quote.

 

[JMFJ 3]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=512507

That same mindset is being implemented on the senior side IMO, gritty/smashmouth hockey with pace.

 

[cagney]

Like I said the other night, I totally underestimated this team. I never would have believed they'd win gold but it was awesome to see it. I hope we see more and more US teams that can pull it together in tournaments like this in the future. It's just so awesome.

 

[William H Bonney]

Eligible players to return from this team for next year are:

Goalies:
Jack Campbell

Defense:
John Ramage
Cam Fowler

Forwards:
Jason Zucker
Ryan Bourque
Chris Kreider
Kyle Palmieri
Jeremy Morin
Jerry D'Amigo

 

[Levitate]

Frankly, I just think your bias against the kid is because you're an Islanders fan. Just my opinion. Glad to see you actually responded, though.

I found it highly annoying when you were marginalizing him before and now you're doing it again. Oh well. Guess an Islanders fan can't give credit to the kid.

I don't know if he was really marginalizing Stepan. At least, I don't remember him saying "I don't think Stepan is really skilled enough to make this team" or something. He just said that Stepan wasn't a lock.

edit: then again, he just said now that he didn't think Stepan was good enough, so hey

In some ways I think Stepans high is a less dynamic Scott Gomez (basically not as good a skater, but similar as a setup guy who probably tops out around 70 points), but it'll also depend on who he gets to play with at the NHL level.

However I'm not sure that he "stepped up his game to a new level" just for this tournament...he was already breaking out at Wisconsin and stepping it up.

 

[William H Bonney]

The Western College Hockey Blog - as usual - has released its early estimations on who will get invites to the Evaluation Camp for the 2011 WJC in Buffalo:

Goalies (x3):

**Jack Campbell
Matt McNeeley
John Gibson

Defense (x12):

**Cam Fowler
**John Ramage
Nick Leddy
William Wrenn
Jon Merrill
Justin Faulk
Derek Forbort
Stephen Johns
Jared Tinordi
Brian Dumoulin
Patrick Wey
Mac Bennett

Forwards (x19):

**Jerry D'Amigo
**Jeremy Morin
**Chris Kreider
**Kyle Palmieiri
**Ryan Bourque
**Jason Zucker
Chris Brown
Drew Shore
Kevin Lynch
Zach Budish
Josh Birkholz
Tyler Pitlick
Mitchell Callahan
Tyler Maxwell
Matt Nieto
Brandon Saad
Rocco Grimaldi
Shane McColgan
Seth Ambroz

http://www.westerncollegehockeyblog.com/

**Returning players

 

[AmericanDream]

The Western College Hockey Blog - as usual - has released its early estimations on who will get invites to the Evaluation Camp for the 2011 WJC in Buffalo:

Goalies (x3):

**Jack Campbell
Matt McNeeley
John Gibson

Defense (x12):

**Cam Fowler
**John Ramage
Nick Leddy
William Wrenn
Jon Merrill
Justin Faulk
Derek Forbort
Stephen Johns
Jared Tinordi
Brian Dumoulin
Patrick Wey
Mac Bennett

Forwards (x19):

**Jerry D'Amigo
**Jeremy Morin
**Chris Kreider
**Kyle Palmieiri
**Ryan Bourque
**Jason Zucker
Chris Brown
Drew Shore
Kevin Lynch
Zach Budish
Josh Birkholz
Tyler Pitlick
Mitchell Callahan
Tyler Maxwell
Matt Nieto
Brandon Saad
Rocco Grimaldi
Shane McColgan
Seth Ambroz

http://www.westerncollegehockeyblog.com/

**Returning players

a ton of CHL kids not on there....Etem, Watson, Knight, Archibald, Rogalski, Aronson, Parker, Levi, Yogan......plus no Beau Bennett, Billy Arnold, Brock Nelson, Nick Bjugstad, or Charlie Coyle?????? no way these kids get left off, way too much size and skill to keep off..

 

[AmericanDream]

also no Will Yanakeff in net???

 

[William H Bonney]

It's going to be geared more towards college players, that's what he follows predominantly. But yes, I'd think guys like Etem, Ryan, Knight, etc. would be in the mix certainly.

The goalies will be interesting. Jack Campbell would have to really stall in his development to not be the guy for the next two years so we'll see how they approach the backup position, by taking a younger guy for experience or what not.

Yanakeff was booted from the NTDP but USA Hockey named him to the JR A Challenge team so he could be in play.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Has Adam Brown made a decision on what country he'll be affiliated at with? If the U.S., I can see him being invited to the U.S. camp.

 

[AmericanDream]

Has Adam Brown made a decision on what country he'll be affiliated at with? If the U.S., I can see him being invited to the U.S. camp.

i believe he picked Canada

 

[William H Bonney]

Has Adam Brown made a decision on what country he'll be affiliated at with? If the U.S., I can see him being invited to the U.S. camp.

Not that I'm aware of. Obviously he tried out for Canada's WJC team in their goalie camp but didn't make it.

I wonder if he even got a sniff from the US this last go around.

 

[Kvashinator12]

Any American fans want to make a comment on your team? In my point of view, that American squad is looking kinda weak compared to the last couple years. Pretty Weak in all 3 positions...

Apparently your comment was pretty far off...

 

[William H Bonney]

Apparently your comment was pretty far off...

Lots of crow to be had by lots of people in this thread but he'll never know as indicated by the *.

 

[LyNX27]

woops

 

[LyNX27]

Yeah, I left because of you.

So saying he isn't a lock like you believe is the same as far from a lock? I'll admit, Stepan stepped his game up to a new level and I didn't think he had it in him. His play/role reminded me of Parise in 2004 in a lot of ways. I know Ranger fans like to think they're the only ones that knew about him, that's fine. I've watched him for longer than you've known how to pronounce his name. Just because I doubted his ability to reach this level doesn't mean I didn't know who he was.

I could also go on about how I was one of the only ones on this board for the past few years who have been able to contribute on players like Bourque, Ramage, Campbell, and in particular D'Amigo. Do you see me saying "I told you so" about D'Amigo? Go read my post history about him. I think I'm the only person on this board not surprised by his play or Bourque's. This generation of NTDP alums are the hardest working I have ever seen and it isn't the first time I've said that on here. Stepan fit in quite nicely with their smart, hard working play. However, that also doesn't mean they have the highest of upsides. I still don't see Stepan as an all-star first line center in the NHL as you and others believe. They are collectively just talented enough, to go along with their great heart, work ethic, smarts, poise, discipline, and never-say-die attitudes to be stars at the junior/college level. They'll be Joe Pavelskis and Ryan Callahans at the NHL level if they reach their peaks.

Everytime a player that's unknown to fans of the other 29 teams does well in this tournament the fans of that team will always come out with a "we knew about him and you underestimated him!" crap. Well I don't have an emotional attachment, sorry. I look at ability and potential and compare it to trends of the past and hope for the best. Sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong.

If all that you just listed was actually right you wouldn't have said that Stepan was far from a lock on this team, and you CLEARLY would not have said that he stepped up to a new level OR that you doubted his ability. I'm sure that you noticed on UW-M he spent a lot of his freshman year on the PK and that a lot of the offense and offensive chances were generated from his play and his "Ability" to always do something productive with the puck.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=512507

That is the best thing I have read in a long long time

 

[Konk]

Frankly, I just think your bias against the kid is because you're an Islanders fan. Just my opinion. Glad to see you actually responded, though.

I found it highly annoying when you were marginalizing him before and now you're doing it again. Oh well. Guess an Islanders fan can't give credit to the kid.

I'm also not an Islander fan. The only thing I like about the Islanders are Tavares and Okposo.

Nice try though. Your bias is the only one shining. The only bias I've been accused of on this board is for USA prospects. So that's another strike.

And you're glad I actually responded? What, like I'd be afraid of a kid who takes it personal when someone doesn't agree with him on his favorite teams' prospects on the internet?

LOL

 

[Konk]

I don't know if he was really marginalizing Stepan. At least, I don't remember him saying "I don't think Stepan is really skilled enough to make this team" or something. He just said that Stepan wasn't a lock.

edit: then again, he just said now that he didn't think Stepan was good enough, so hey

Where did I say I didn't think Stepan was good enough? I've always simply said he wasn't a lock or a future all-star 1st liner like some Ranger fans believe. He wasn't the only USA player I thought that about, either.

You guys like to pick out little words and twist my opinion. I simply stated I didn't think he had the ability to reach that level. I'll explain further for the hard-headed.

If all that you just listed was actually right you wouldn't have said that Stepan was far from a lock on this team, and you CLEARLY would not have said that he stepped up to a new level OR that you doubted his ability. I'm sure that you noticed on UW-M he spent a lot of his freshman year on the PK and that a lot of the offense and offensive chances were generated from his play and his "Ability" to always do something productive with the puck.

I've noticed a lot of players in my many years of watching the NCAA do what Stepan is doing only to be mediocre at the WJC level. I expected him to follow the same route. Turns out, he's that one out of a hundred that actually followed through on his promise.

Every year all fans from all nationalities think their team is going to win gold. To me, that's blind hope. Posters like cagney and I are more the types that I guess have seen so much come through the pipe and so many failures/let downs that we don't let ourselves become emotionally attached and therefor have a more unbiased, rational view on things. Sometimes we're right, sometimes we're wrong. But you guys are the type to never admit when you're wrong, just act like you were the only ones who knew the whole time.

Humility and rationality is lost on those types, I guess.

 

[AmericanDream]

It's going to be geared more towards college players, that's what he follows predominantly. But yes, I'd think guys like Etem, Ryan, Knight, etc. would be in the mix certainly.

The goalies will be interesting. Jack Campbell would have to really stall in his development to not be the guy for the next two years so we'll see how they approach the backup position, by taking a younger guy for experience or what not.

Yanakeff was booted from the NTDP but USA Hockey named him to the JR A Challenge team so he could be in play.

I pretty much figured that was the case. I am going to throw an early list of names out there, obviously it is very early to tell, but I think you will see another strong emphasis on CHL Americans this next year as well. Here we go....


DEFENCE

Cam Fowler- if not in the NHL
John Ramage
Jonathan Merrill
Derek Forbort
Justin Faulk
Stephen Johns
Kevin Clare
Nick Mattson
Brandon Archibald
Joe Rogalski
William Wrenn
Nick Leddy
Tyler Hostetter
Brian Dumoulin

Forwards

Chris Kreider
Kyle Palmieri
Jerry D'Amigo
Ryan Bourque
Jeremy Morin
Jason Zucker
Chris Brown
Zach Budish
Austin Watson
Phil Lane
Drew Shore
Jared Knight
Andrew Yogan
Emerson Etem
Shane McColgan
Mitchell Callahan
Beau Bennett
Billy Arnold
Matt Nieto
Brandon Saad
Seth Ambroz
Brock Nelson

GOALIES

Jack Campbell
William Yanakeff
Josh Gibson
Michael Houser

... now I know that is a lot of players, but I am even a good bunch off as well: Bjugstad, Coyle, Wey, Gardiner, Moffatt, Ryan, Lynch, Maxwell, Parker, Levi, Aronson, etc..

This is a tremendously deep crop of talent, that might have a few 2011 eligible players making this team. The defending champs will most certainly have the talent and depth to choice from this time around.