U.S. players 'locked in, ready to go' as World Juniors camp opens
Defensive-zone coverage, penalty kill among areas of focus during fast-paced practice sessions
© Rena Laverty
The 18-year-old forward, selected by the St. Louis Blues in the first round (No. 23) in the 2022 NHL Draft, also can sense the seriousness in what needs to be accomplished during the next six days ahead of finalizing a tournament roster during USA Hockey select camp that began at USA Hockey Arena on Monday.
"It's obviously really exciting to come together and play, but business means business and we're here to win a gold medal so that's the thing on our mind right now," said Snuggerud, who has 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 20 games as a freshman at the University of Minnesota.
The camp includes 18 forwards, 10 defensemen and four goalies. The U.S. must finalize it's 23-player roster by Dec. 24.
"I would say from yesterday's opening meetings through today, it was more a sense of professionalism for that young age," coach Rand Pecknold said. "I mean, they're locked in, ready to go. I was really impressed with that. I sense they're certainly excited, but I felt it was more professional-like."
The United States lost 4-2 to Czechia in the quarterfinals of the 2022 WJC in August and finished fifth. Eight players from that team will take part in camp: goalies Kaidan Mbereko (2023 draft eligible) and Andrew Oke (2023 draft eligible); defensemen Sean Behrens (Colorado Avalanche), Luke Hughes (New Jersey Devils) and Jack Peart (Minnesota Wild); and forwards Logan Cooley (Arizona Coyotes), Redmond Savage (Detroit Red Wings) and Charlie Stramel (2023 draft eligible).
"The finish in August isn't even coming into my equation right now," Pecknold said. "We're a new group so I haven't even put any thought into the 2022 tournament. Obviously I've watched clips of other teams and what our team did there, but we just need to focus on what's in front of us, focus on the process."
Snuggerud is one of seven first-round picks at camp, including Hughes (New Jersey Devils, No. 4, 2021), and forwards Cooley, Tyler Boucher (Ottawa Senators, No. 10, 2021), Cutter Gauthier (Philadelphia Flyers, No. 5, 2022), Chaz Lucius (Winnipeg Jets, No. 18, 2021) and Rutger McGroarty (Winnipeg Jets, No. 14, 2022). Cooley is scheduled to arrive in Plymouth on Thursday due to personal matters.
Hughes is the younger brother of Devils forward Jack Hughes and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes.
"I really liked the fast pace of our practice," Luke Hughes said. "It's a tryout setting, so guys want to secure roles and make the team. I think it was a good first day, good to meet the guys and grow as a team.
"I think for the guys it is a business trip. We're here to win and that comes first, but it's super exciting whenever you have an opportunity to represent the country and wear the jersey with pride. I think it's a little bit of both. I think a lot of guys are just really excited to get the ball rolling, but we're here to make each other better every day and grow as a team."
The U.S. will have pre-tournament games against Finland at QPlex in Quispamsis, New Brunswick, on Dec. 19 and against Sweden at Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, on Dec. 21. The 2023 WJC will be held in Moncton and Halifax, Nova Scotia, from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.
The United States will play in Group B in the preliminary round, along with Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia and Latvia. Group A consists of Canada, the defending champion, along with Sweden, Czechia, Germany and Austria.
"We're trying to get guys up to speed with certain things so today we were focused on our defensive-zone coverage, the neutral zone and penalty kill," Pecknold said. "We just kind of introduced offensive zone play, so we're trying to cover a lot, but we've got six practices before our exhibition against Finland. On Tuesday we're going to do a little more offensive zone play because they were a little tentative [Monday], so we'll clean it up. We'll get some video clips to show them, teach them either individually or as a team. We'll harp on that and start some power-play work."
USA HOCKEY SELECT CAMP ROSTER
GOALIES: Trey Augustine, USA U-18, NTDP (2023 eligible); Kaidan Mbereko, Colorado College, NCHC (2023 eligible); Tyler Muszelik, New Hampshire, NCAA (Florida Panthers); Andrew Oke, Saginaw, OHL (2023 eligible)
DEFENSEMEN: Sean Behrens, Denver, NCAA (Colorado Avalanche); Shai Buium, Denver, NCAA (Detroit Red Wings); Seamus Casey, Michigan, NCAA (New Jersey Devils); Ryan Chesley, Minnesota, NCAA (Washington Capitals); Aidan Hreshuk, Boston College, NCAA (Columbus Blue Jackets); Luke Hughes, Michigan, NCAA (Devils); Lane Hutson, Boston University, NCAA (Montreal Canadiens); Luke Mittelstadt, Minnesota, NCAA (2023 eligible); Jack Peart, St. Cloud State, NCAA (Minnesota Wild); Ryan Ufko, Massachusetts, NCAA (Nashville Predators).
FORWARDS:Jackson Blake, North Dakota NCAA (Carolina Hurricanes); Gavin Brindley, Michigan, NCAA (2023 eligible); Tyler Boucher, Ottawa, OHL (Ottawa Senators); Kenny Connors, Massachusetts, NCAA (Los Angeles Kings); Logan Cooley, Minnesota, NCAA (Arizona Coyotes); Jack Devine, Denver, NCAA (Florida Panthers); Dylan Duke, Michigan, NCAA (Tampa Bay Lightning); Cutter Gauthier, Boston College, NCAA (Philadelphia Flyers); Noah Laba, Colorado College, NCAA (New York Rangers); Ryan Leonard, USA-18, NTDP (2023 eligible); Samuel Lipkin, Quinnipiac, NCAA (Coyotes); Chaz Lucius, Manitoba, AHL (Winnipeg Jets); Cameron Lund, Northeastern, NCAA(San Jose Sharks); Rutger McGroarty, Michigan, NCAA (Jets); Redmond Savage, Miami University, NCAA (Detroit Red Wings); William Smith, USA U-18, NTDP (2023 eligible); Jimmy Snuggerud, Minnesota, NCAA (St. Louis Blues); Charlie Stramel, Wisconsin, NCAA (2023 eligible)
Photo credit: Rena Laverty/USA Hockey NTDP
