3 'Star' keys to success for U.S. against Slovakia in World Juniors

The NHL Network will provide exclusive live telecasts of all United States games during the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia.
The U.S. will play the first of four preliminary-round games in Group B at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria against Slovakia on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN). It also will play against Kazakhstan, Sweden and Finland. The playoff round begins Jan. 2.
Longtime NCAA hockey analyst Dave Starman, who will handle the broadcast along with Stephen Nelson, will give his three keys to victory for the United States before each of their games during the 11-day tournament.
"While understanding their opponent and doing some pre-scouting, United States coach Mike Hastings will have this group focused on itself for its first game which, in this tournament, usually is the most challenging thing," Starman said. "Excitement, nerves, national television, some players wearing the USA sweater for the first time ... it can be overwhelming and many coaches who have run a bench in this fortnight of games has prepped the U.S. to worry about its own game."

1. Simple and smart

"With about eight days of practice, video, meetings, and a pair of exhibition games to get the roster to 23 players, this is really the first game for this group, as a group. As coach, you're hoping the group can keep it simple, start to gel, and find some chemistry and confidence. While the skill level is high, it takes some time to bring it all together. In this tournament, being better doesn't guarantee you win games, so for the U.S. it's about playing a low-risk game to get started to find out your true identity as opposed to what you might think it is. It could take a period, but players can't overthink it."

2. A driving defense

"The U.S. defense has a group that includes the one-man breakout in Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks), and the others are all high-end, first-pass players. All can join the rush and will when encouraged. Coach Mike Hastings has had some real good defensemen at Minnesota State University and likes them activated; Daniel Brickley (Los Angeles Kings) and Casey Nelson (Buffalo Sabres) come to mind. So expect to see that second wave engaged. In my opinion, the U.S. defense is an offensive weapon that could determine a run for the gold medal."

3. Find your goalie

"In most cases the goalie who starts Game 1 tends to be the one who plays the gold-medal game ... if you get there. Starting off against a mid-level opponent is a great way to break the ice for someone in this group to make his World Junior Championship debut. A strong game is important, because unlike college hockey, if you have a clunker you don't have a week to fix it. Goalies have a huge impact on this tournament and starting strong is a big component to setting the tone."