Richter also gave the U.S. goaltending group a A-plus grade.
"I have the highest regard for these three goalies," he said. "This U.S. team has speed, maturity and the defense looks spectacular, but I would start in goal like any championship coach would. You need solid goaltending and all three of these guys are fantastic.
"The problem for Team USA is not in the lineup I'm looking at now, it's in the lineup of every other team they're going to be playing, because they will be this good as well."
Leetch said the team on paper looks to be very versatile, as was the one he played for in 1996 that defeated Canada in a best-of-3 series.
"All the forwards could play different roles and most of these guys are all penalty killers, power-play guys or last-minute-of-the-game guys," Leetch said. "I think it's important to have a deep versatile team that has players that can play wing, the penalty kill and the power play. Everyone knows you're going to put Patrick Kane out there on the power play. You need people to move up and down the roster."
Richter said it will be vital for the Americans to mesh rather quickly if they plan on winning the tournament.
"There are only a couple of teams I played for in my life where I had as much fun as the 1996 World Cup team," Richter said. "Having that camaraderie, that feeling of wanting to play for each other is important in a short tournament. It will be crucial for this group as well."