The general manager of USA hockey players, Brett Peterson, included three bronze medalists from the last world championship in the Czech Republic in the initial fifteen-member nomination for the world championship, which will return to Prague and Ostrava in May.
The squad then included goalkeeper Alex Lyon, forward Dylan Larkin from Detroit and defenseman Seth Jones from Chicago. Three years later, forward Johnny Gaudreau from Columbus also won bronze at the championships in Copenhagen and Herning, and Larkin was also there.
Gaudreau, who went to Columbus as an unprotected free agent from Calgary the year before and signed a lucrative seven-year contract for $68 million, has not yet followed up on a great 2021/22 season in the Blue Jackets jersey. In it, he shone in 82 games of the regular season with 115 points for 40 goals and 75 assists from 82 games, and in 12 playoff duels he scored 14 points for three hits and 11 assists.
In 2016, he played for Team North America at the World Cup in Toronto and is looking forward to his fifth World Cup. Jones and Larkin also met in the team with Gaudreau at the World Cup. Detroit captain Larkin will go to his sixth and Jones to his fourth WC.
Although Lyon has a medal, he is waiting for his first start in the USA jersey. As the No. 3 behind Connor Hellebuyck and Jack Campbell, he did not hit the tournament nine years ago. He caught 44 games in the NHL this season, which is five more than in the previous six seasons combined for Philadelphia, Carolina and Florida.
Forwards Cole Caufield from Montreal, Joel Farabee from Philadelphia, Trevor Zegras from Anaheim, Shane Pinto with Brady Tkachuk from Ottawa and defenseman Alex Vlasic from Chicago will also make their debuts. Caufield, Zegras and Minnesota’s Matt Boldy, who recovered from last year’s World Championships, are the 2021 world junior champions. San Jose’s Luke Kunin has gold from the 2017 U20 championship and will be making his second appearance at the World Championships. Gaudreau achieved gold at the Junior World Championships in 2013.
Twenty-year-old defender Luke Hughes from New Jersey already played at the World Cup two years ago in Helsinki and Tampere. Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson, a year older, has experience from the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and fullback Zach Werenski made appearances at the 2019 World Championships in Bratislava and Košice.
The team of coach John Hynes will start preparing on Sunday, May 5 in Bratislava, where two days later they will play a preparatory duel with Slovakia. At the WC, they will appear in basic group B in Ostrava.
Initial nominations of USA hockey players for the WC in Ostrava and Prague:
Keeper: Alex Lyon (Detroit/NHL), defenders: Seth Jones, Alex Vlasic (both Chicago/NHL), Luke Hughes (New Jersey/NHL), Jake Sanderson (Ottawa/NHL), Zach Werenski (Columbus/NHL),
attackers: Shane Pinto, Brady Tkachuk (both Ottawa/NHL), Matt Boldy (Minnesota/NHL), Cole Caufield (Montreal/NHL), Joel Farabee (Philadelphia/NHL), Johnny Gaudreau (Columbus/NHL), Luke Kunin (San Jose/ NHL), Dylan Larkin (Detroit/NHL), Trevor Zegras (Anaheim/NHL).
