2022 World Juniors Preview: Team USA storylines, players to watch

Chris Peters
Chris Peters
2022 World Juniors Preview: Team USA storylines, players to watch

Team USA enters the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship as the defending champion, having beaten Canada in Edmonton last year in one of the most complete performances by a U.S. team in the tournament’s long history. The Americans won that final 2-0 on the backs of Trevor Zegras and goalie Spencer Knight, on top of a perfect game plan from head coach Nate Leaman.

Most of the key players from that gold medal effort have moved on. Zegras has been putting together a potential Calder Trophy season with the Anaheim Ducks and Knight already has a win under his belt in the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the end of last season with the Florida Panthers. The entire coaching staff, however, has returned for another trip. Leaman got each member of last year’s staff to sacrifice another Christmas at home to try and run it back in Alberta.

The U.S. squad will also have defenseman and Ottawa Senators prospect Jake Sanderson back. He led all American players in ice time in the gold medal game, in a spectacular defensive effort. Sanderson was just named USA’s captain for 2022.

The Americans will also rely heavily on the Seattle Kraken’s first-ever draft pick, Matty Beniers, who will be the club’s top center. Beniers was also part of the 2021 gold medal-winning team. In all, the Americans will have six returning players from their roster last year.

In addition to Sanderson and Beniers, the U.S. will have Brett Berard (New York Rangers), Landon Slaggert (Chicago Blackhawks), Brock Faber (Los Angeles Kings) and Tyler Kleven (Ottawa Senators) all back.

The U.S. has never won consecutive gold medals at the World Juniors, but it does have more gold medals than any other country dating back to 2010, when John Carlson had his iconic overtime game-winner. Team USA has won four of its five all-time gold medals in the last decade. Canada and Finland have each won three, while Sweden and Russia each have won once in that span.

In order to repeat, the Americans likely will have to go through Canada once again at some point, but the soonest they could meet is in the playoff round, due to being in different preliminary round groups. There’s no question that matchup is hoped for by both teams and fans on both sides of the border.

As we get set for the WJC, here’s a look at some of the storylines and players to watch as the U.S. looks to repeat as World Junior champions for the first time.

Storylines

Best blue line in the tournament: When looking at each team’s defensive group, with most teams opting to bring eight defensemen and 14 forwards, it is clear that USA’s biggest strength is its back end. If you’re looking at each defensive corps, 1-8 the U.S. has the deepest and most talented group with Canada a fairly close second.

Sanderson is the best of the bunch and is expected to log major minutes while also being both an elite defender and offensive driver, as he has been at the University of North Dakota this season. He will also wear the “C” for the U.S.

“When your best player is your hardest worker, it can drive your team,” Leaman said of Sanderson. “He’s a winner.”

Also on the back end, Brock Faber is expected to play major minutes. Leaman hopes to keep Sanderson and Faber on separate pairs to make sure the D corps is balanced, and has a trusted defender on the ice more times than not. Faber’s offensive numbers don’t always pop, but he defends at a high level and plays a very mature, intelligent game.

In addition to having a former No. 5 overall pick in Sanderson, the team also has the New Jersey Devils’ pick at No. 4 overall in the most recent draft, Luke Hughes. The youngest Hughes brother will be the third in his family to play in this tournament and very likely will have a significant role on the D corps, playing on one of the power-play units and being one of the more dynamic defensemen on USA’s roster. The Americans need him to bring the offense.

Also in the group is Wyatt Kaiser (Chicago Blackhawks), a top defenseman at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Scott Morrow (Carolina Hurricanes), an offensive-minded blueliner with electric puck skills from UMass; Jack Peart (Minnesota Wild), a solid two-way defenseman who could see some power-play time; Tyler Kleven, a hulking defensive-defenseman who has a bomb of a shot and delivers crushing body checks with regularity; and Ian Moore (Anaheim Ducks), a smooth-skating two-way blueliner who has played a big role as a freshman at Harvard.

Every single one of these guys can skate and their mobility will help Team USA in all zones. This group can move pucks, can defend and will be a driving element of the Americans’ medal hopes.

Questions in net: Having had a tandem of Spencer Knight and Dustin Wolf last year, the U.S. will turn to Boston University netminder Drew Commesso (Chicago Blackhawks) to be the team’s starter. He was supposed to be on the team last year, but was knocked out due to COVID protocols. Commesso, however, was invited to the men’s World Championship in the spring and was able to work with Nate Leaman, who was an assistant coach on that team.

Commesso’s numbers have dipped this year as Boston University has struggled as a whole. The U.S. staff has faith in Commesso to be strong enough to backstop them. In this particular tournament, three of the goalies on top contending teams are first round draft picks – Yaroslav Askarov for Russia, Sebastian Cossa for Canada and Jesper Wallstedt for Sweden. Commesso was a second-round pick by the Blackhawks in 2020 and is very highly regarded within the organization as the potential goalie of the future. He may not have the draft pedigree of the others, but he’s got a good overall track record.

The concern for the U.S. is what happens if Commesso falters. Last year they had two elite goalies to put in the net, but this year there’s a pretty significant drop off from Commesso to his backups.

Kaidan Mbereko was undrafted last season after two years at the U.S. National Team Development Program. He is now playing in a platoon role for the Lincoln Stars in the USHL, but his familiarity with USA Hockey and a good camp this summer helped put him on this roster. Meanwhile, Team USA also has Dylan Silverstein, a 2022 draft eligible currently playing for the U.S. National Under-18 Team at the NTDP. Both are capable goalies, but there has to be a hope that Commesso is able to play most, if not all of the games, and play well. It’s a lot to ask of him, but if he’s up to the task, the U.S. chances for gold grow substantially.

Who will step up to score?: The U.S. had one of its most loaded rosters last season with Trevor Zegras, Cole Caufield, Matt Boldy, Alex Turcotte and Arthur Kaliyev. There were a number of players Leaman could send over the boards and expect them to find a way to score. This year, there aren’t as many natural scoring talents.

Beniers is going to be one of the central figures of the offensive attack as a returning player. He’s such a good two-way center that he can provide value if he’s not producing at a high level. Leaman said because of the difference between this year’s team and last year’s is that they are going to have to find a way to score by committee.

There’s plenty of talent on this roster, though. Brett Berard, who will play on Beniers’s wing, is a returning player and has been one of the top scorers in men’s college hockey this year for Leaman at Providence.

The team also has high expectations for Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick Matthew Knies, who has grown into an effective power forward at the University of Minnesota. He is likely to play alongside 2022 draft-eligible forward Logan Cooley, who will likely play a substantial top-six scoring role for Team USA.

The Americans also took a hit to its roster when Thomas Bordeleau came down with COVID-19 just before he was to join USA’s camp. He would have been USA’s top playmaking center. So a lot of those responsibilities now fall on Cooley who is a lightning-quick forward with high-end skill.

There’s plenty of other options on the roster to find the net though. Matthew Coronato (Calgary Flames) was a top goal scorer in the USHL last season, Chaz Lucius (Winnipeg Jets) averaged nearly a goal per game last season despite missing a large chunk of it due to injury, Sasha Pastujov (Anaheim Ducks) was the top scorer at the NTDP last year and started the season as one of the OHL’s leading scorers for the Guelph Storm.

There’s just no one like Zegras, who was historically automatic last year. So they’ll need a little something from everyone to replace that kind of production.

Players to watch

Jake Sanderson, D, Ottawa Senators: He is going to play massive minutes in the tournament and in all situations for the U.S. From power play to penalty kill, there may be some games where it seems like Sanderson isn’t leaving the ice. Sanderson is an elite skater who defends at an exceptionally high level. On top of that, Sanderson has become a play-driving defenseman who is averaging over a point per game for North Dakota. He is Team USA’s most NHL-ready player by a fair margin.

Matty Beniers, C, Seattle Kraken: One of the alternate captains for Team USA, Beniers will be leaned on in all situations. His strength is his competitiveness on top of high-end hockey sense and sneaky playmaking abilities. Beniers does not often wow you with his puck skills, but he finds ways to the net as well as anyone with his tenacity and physical strength.

Brett Berard, LW, New York Rangers: As a returning player, Berard will be playing a much bigger role this time around. He and Beniers have played together a lot even going back to when they were kids. That chemistry helps a ton. On top of that, Berard has been one of the best forwards in college hockey this year, with 24 points in 21 games. His ability to play a good two-way game also makes him one of the Americans’ most versatile wingers.

Brock Faber, D, Los Angeles Kings: If you want a clinic in defensive footwork and skating, there are few better to watch than Faber. He rarely gets beaten clean and more times than not is going to win his puck battles. On top of that high-end mobility, Faber moves pucks effectively. He is expected to be a key piece of USA’s penalty kill and should play the second most minutes of any defenseman.

Luke Hughes, D, New Jersey Devils: I’ve thought Hughes has exceeded my lofty expectations of his freshman year at Michigan. He’s an effective puck mover and is becoming even more dynamic in his ability to get pucks up ice and create offense. He’s averaging a point per game for Michigan and has such incredible poise with or without the puck. He’s got more size than his brothers and he definitely knows how to use it better now.

Logan Cooley, C, 2022 NHL Draft Eligible: A likely top-10 pick in the 2022 draft, Cooley is going to play a substantial role for the Americans. His speed is a major factor in what makes him successful. On top of that, he has quick hand skills and processes the game at a high speed to make creative, effective plays. As long as he’s confident enough to take charge in the role he’s expected to play for the U.S., he should be a big piece for this team.

Matthew Knies, LW, Toronto Maple Leafs: As one of the standout performers for Team USA at its summer evaluation camp, Knies is very likely playing in the top six and could have a substantial role as a power winger for the Americans. He has good skating ability and an excellent shot, but can also make plays in tight and be physical. In those tight-checking games, players like Knies become a lot more important.

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