Patrick Moynihan, of course, made the team and helped the U.S. defeat Canada 2-0 to win gold in the Edmonton bubble.
"I think when it first happened you maybe don't realize it," said Patrick Moynihan, "but now, to get back here with the guys here and my family, you start to realize how special it is."
Exactly how and why Moynihan could have fallen to the Devils in the sixth round 18 months ago remains a bit of a mystery.
Sam Cosentino, the Canadian junior hockey/Draft guru who works for Sportsnet cited Moynihan's selection by the Devils as one of the most intriguing over two days in Vancouver. He was eventually drafted 158th, the third pick of the sixth round.
"A guy who will find a way to make it," wrote Cosentino at the time.
If his Draft position suggested that he was/is an underdog, it also only tells part of the story. A smallish 2001-born right-wing, there probably wasn't a more crowded space for a teenage hockey player to find himself. A glut of talented American players was born that year, at all positions but especially at forward, headlined by Jack Hughes, Moynihan's close friend and golf buddy.
Moynihan has had to fight to earn everything he's gotten so far, especially since he's also battled injuries along the way. He returned home - to a sporting family that includes mom Patrice, older sisters Corey and Cayley, and twin Ciara, with whom he will turn 20 on January 23 - from his first year in the U.S. development program and needed surgery. He returned for a season that ended with a bronze medal at the U18 Worlds and his selection by the Devils.
Moynihan scored 13 goals for the Friars as a freshman last season before the pandemic halted play. It was a mild surprise he didn't get a chance to try-out for the U.S. squad that eventually lost in the quarters in the Czech Republic. This year his making the team was complicated by both the pandemic and his suffering a concussion while in Edmonton. He missed two games but was back in time for his team's semi-final victory over Finland.
"I think the (opening-game) loss to Russa and all the COVID (protocols)," said Moynihan in describing the ups-and-downs even in a short tournament, "it made us focus more, and maybe work harder too, to show us what U.S. hockey was all about."
Moynihan's role at the World Junior was like how he projects a pro. A detail-orientated forward who works hard everywhere he goes. He has skill if the puck is on his stick but his strength is more as an all-rounder.
Yegor Sharangovich made the Devils this season and scored the OT winner over the Boston Bruins after being taken in a similar position in the Draft a year before Moynihan, who acknowledges motivation from Sharangovich's story.
"I saw (Sharangovich) at the summer camp last year," he said, "for sure, he had a bit a chip on his shoulder wanting to prove himself…and yeah, that gives me confidence that I can do something similar too."
Getting a feel for a teenager's true personality can be tricky. As Michael Moynihan indicated, his son keeps his cards close to the vest, even if he's holding a royal flush or a pair of threes. But Patrick Moynihan's social media feed offers a glimpse behind the mask. On Twitter, Moynihan congratulates everyone from Hughes on down, including Theresa Feaster daughter of Stanley Cup-winning GM Jay Feaster, who worked for both the gold medal winners in Edmonton and for his team in Providence.
Nowhere on Twitter does Moynihan even mention his own role in winning a gold medal, or his solid start to his collegiate career.
But people are starting to notice.
