Team USA assembled in Plymouth, Michigan on December 15th to begin their World Juniors journey at USA Hockey Arena. The United States departed for Kingston, Ontario on December 18, where they continued preparations, including a pre-tournament game against Slovakia. Dec. 21 (6-2 win). Team USA traveled to Cornwall, Ontario, briefly stopped and faced Finland in another tune-up contest (winning 5-2) before arriving here in Ottawa on Dec. 23 at 9 p.m.
David Carle (Anchorage, Alaska), who is returning to coaching after leading the U.S. junior team to a gold medal in last year’s tournament, said preparations are going well.
“We have a good group,” said Karl, who is also the head coach at the University of Denver. He led the Pioneers to two NCAA Division I national titles (2022, 2024) in his first six seasons. “As a staff, we like the progress our team has made through camp and the two pre-tournament games, and we look forward to building on that as we begin the tournament.”
Today, the United States and Germany met for the 15th time at the World Juniors, with Team USA winning all but one of the first 14 meetings. The two teams last met in the quarterfinals of the 2023 tournament, with the United States winning 11-1.
Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass./Boston College) will captain Team USA, and forwards Oliver Moore (Mounds View, Minn./University of Minnesota), Danny Nelson (Maple Grove, Minn./University of Minnesota) and Gabe will captain Team USA. Serves as the captain of. Perreault (Hinsdale, Ill./Boston College) and defenseman Zeev Bouium (San Diego, California/University of Denver) are acting captains.
The U.S. roster includes 10 players who were part of the U.S. National Junior Team a year ago and 22 NHL draft picks, including 14 first- and second-round picks.
