As they prepare for the 2024 World Junior A Challenge — which takes place Dec. 9-15 in Camrose, Alberta — the U.S. Junior Select Team once again has its sights set on a championship.
After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, the Americans will be seeking their 10th championship since the inaugural event in 2006. The U.S. has reached the podium 15 consecutive times and last won it in 2022.
The Americans open with a preliminary round game Dec. 9 against Canada East at Encana Arena at 5 p.m. ET. In addition to those two teams, the event features Canada West and Sweden and will be live streamed here. The U.S. is also slated to play a pre-tournament game Saturday against Canada West at 4:30 p.m. ET at Co-Op Place.
For the second straight year, head coach Matt Smaby will lead the U.S. Junior Select Team. All 22 players on the roster hail from the USHL, the nation’s premier Tier 1 junior league. Smaby is currently in his fourth season as the head coach of the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks.
Only goaltender Caleb Heil (Victoria, Minn./Madison Capitols) returns from the 2023 roster, which includes 13 forwards, seven defensemen and a pair of netminders. Four players — Will Zellers (Maple Grove, Minn./Green Bay Gamblers), Luke Osburn (Plymouth, Mich./Youngstown Phantoms), Lucas Van Vliet (Livonia, Mich./Dubuque Fighting Saints), and Austin Baker (White Lake Township, Mich./Sioux Falls Stampede) — were selected in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Smaby likes what he sees on this year’s team, especially the amount of versatility on the roster.
“Everyone can skate,” Smaby said. “Everyone has the ability to play with the puck. I also like the depth that we have this year.”
His players possess a good combination of skill and physicality. While Smaby said he’s still learning more about his players, he thinks a lot of them possess leadership qualities that will pay dividends in this tournament.
Zellers, a forward who the Colorado Avalanche drafted with the 76th overall pick, will be making his World Junior A Challenge debut.
“It’s always nice playing for USA [Hockey] at any tournament,” Zellers said. “It’s a good tournament for our undrafted kids and draft-eligible kids to kind of get their name out and play good in front of scouts.”
While the tournament provides a big opportunity to impress those scouts, Zellers said the team is focused on making a statement against the tough competition.
“It’ll be a good, exciting and competitive tournament,” Zellers said. “Anytime you play international games, it’s never easy. Of course, we just want to win the gold medal. I kind of want to prove it to other teams that we’re a team not to take lightly.”
This U.S. roster features plenty of skilled players who were all picked to serve a specific role, Zellers said.
So, where does Zellers see himself slotted?
“I just kind of want my role to just be a positive impact out there, play smart and fast hockey,” said Zellers, who is committed to the University of North Dakota for next year. “We have a lot of skilled guys, but ‘hard skill’ wins games. I’m going to try to use that to my advantage.”
Part of the lure of the tournament for Zellers is the opportunity to get to know his teammates who are ordinarily USHL opponents.
“It’s kind of nice because you go at these guys the whole season, [and it] kind of gets a little heated out there,” Zellers said. “When you’re on their team, you kind of get to see what their personalities are like and that they’re really good guys. That’s one of the best parts about hockey is the relationships you build over time and the guys you meet through these tournaments.”
Smaby noted that melding those players into a cohesive unit in less than two weeks together poses a significant challenge.
Fortunately for Smaby, he already has experience of what that’s like, and he looks forward to applying lessons he learned at the helm last year and as an assistant coach at the 2022 event.
“It’s an awesome opportunity and an honor to do it,” Smaby said. “There’s things that we did last year that I thought worked well, some things that didn’t. Heading into this year, I feel like we’re in a good spot, and I’m excited.”
He knows that only his team’s best effort will result in a championship against tough international opposition.
“They’re all going to be competitive games,” Smaby said. “They’re all going to present a unique challenge that we’re going to have to be prepared for. These groups really, really bring it on the international stage.”
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
2024 U.S. Schedule
| Date | Opponent/Round | Time (Local/ET)/Result | Location | Broadcast | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat. Dec. 7 | Canada West Pre-Tournament |
4:30 p.m./6:30 p.m. | Co-Op Place Wetaskiwin, Alberta |
— | Stats |
| Mon., Dec. 9 | Canada East Preliminary |
3 p.m./5 p.m. | Encana Arena Camrose, Alberta |
Stream | Stats |
| Tues., Dec. 10 | Sweden Preliminary |
3 p.m./5 p.m. | Encana Arena Camrose, Alberta |
Stream | Stats |
| Thurs., Dec 12 | Canada West Preliminary |
7:30 p.m./9:30 p.m. | Encana Arena Camrose, Alberta |
Stream | Stats |
| Sat., Dec. 14 | TBD Semifinal 1 |
1 p.m./3 p.m. | Encana Arena Camrose, Alberta |
Stream | Stats |
| TBD Semifinal 2 |
5 p.m./7 p.m. | Encana Arena Camrose, Alberta |
Stream | Stats | |
| Sun., Dec. 15 | TBD Third-Place Game |
1 p.m./3 p.m. | Encana Arena Camrose, Alberta |
Stream | Stats |
| TBD Championship Game |
5 p.m./7 p.m. | Encana Arena Camrose, Alberta |
Stream | Stats |
Source: usahockey.com