Three Keys for Team USA to Repeat at World Juniors

Happy Boxing Day, better known to hockey fans as World Junior Day!  The puck drops on the 2025 edition of the World Junior Championship from Ottawa at noon Eastern, when Sweden will take on Slovakia.  In the second game of the day, Team USA will take on Germany.  To round out the evening, Czechia will take on Switzerland, before hosts Canada play Finland, in what promises to be the best game of the tournament's opening day.

Related: 2025 WJC: Team USA vs. Germany Lines, Where To Watch

The Americans enter the tournament in a unique position, having barnstormed their way through last year's event in Gothenburg, blowing kisses to the crowd as they dominated hosts Sweden 6–2 in the gold medal game.  That sets Team USA up with the chance to do something it has never done: Win consecutive WJC gold medals.

Last year's American team represented something of a golden generation, laden with projectable NHL stars.  While this year's group returns a few of those key pieces, Team USA skates into this year's event as underdogs.  Per Bet MGM, Canada is a +275 favorite to take home the gold, followed by Sweden at +300, Finland at +475, then Team USA back at +650.  Those odds suggest the Americans are more of a peer to a Czechia team (+700) than the three medal favorites.

So, how can Team USA score an upset and get back to the top of the World Junior mountain?  Here are three things that have to go right:

I. Trey Augustine does Trey Augustine things

The biggest reason for confidence in Team USA is the man who will occupy the crease: 2023 Detroit Red Wings second round draft pick Trey Augustine.  This will be Augustine's third crack at the WJC, and, without question, he is the Americans' most important returner.

At last year's event, Augustine was dominant: a 1.75 goals against average and .936 save percentage.  Thus far this season at Michigan State, he's upholding that standard with an 11–2–1 record, 1.98 goals against average, and .930 save percentage.

Augustine is also a serial winner.  For Team USA, he has already won gold at the World Junior and U-18 Worlds.  At MSU, he arrived as a freshman to a team that had never advanced a single round in the Big Ten Tournament in program history and proceeded to win the conference's regular season and tournament crowns.  Put it all together and you have a well-earned confidence at the most important position in any knockout tournament.

When asked at Team USA's pre-tournament selection camp last week about the value of his WJC experience, Augustine quipped, "I just feel old now. I felt young at the start. I was a little above my level, but now I just feel comfortable, feel like I'm one of the old guys on the team."

He might feel like an old guy, but he doesn't play like one, and the fastest track to Team USA repeating runs through his continued dominance.

II. Cohesion and "Usability"

For a lot of hockey fans, the World Junior functions essentially as a prospect showcase—a chance to watch some of their favorite team's top drafted talent compete against the best players globally in their age bracket or to get a peek at some high-end draft eligible players.  However, this is still a tournament and a uniquely frenetic one at that.  Winning requires a team to be more than a collection of prospects and instead a cohesive whole.

At the Americans' selection camp, I asked USA general manager John Vanbiesbrouck about the challenge of putting players into roles they might not be accustomed to with their college or junior team, because the talent pool is even more refined at an international event, and he gave a thoughtful response:

In his description of offense emerging from defense, Vanbiesbrouck points to the idea that playing like an all-star team (i.e. feasting on rush offense at the expense of everything else) is not a road to success.  Instead, the Americans must be responsible and cohesive.  Last year's USA team had ridiculous firepower, but as Vanbiesbrouck noted in the conclusion of his response, this year's squad will need to lean on depth to find success, only increasing the imperative for cohesion.

At selection camp, coach David Carle (who also coached last year's gold medal–winning side) said that he appreciates the way the fast and furious nature of the tournament forces that process to play out in a hurry.  "It happens quickly," he said, when asked by THN about whether he saw a team when he looked at his group of camp invitees.  "It's kinda the cool part of the event.  Obviously, many of them know each other, have played with each other, are playing with each other.  They're all excited to be here.  They love the opportunity to try to wear the jersey, so it does start to feel like a team pretty quickly...Our goal, like we've said all along, is we wanna peak for those last three games, so that's our job is to continue to find ways to grow and get more connected and continue to get better."

III. Offensive Stars Shine

Without wishing to recant that emphasis on depth, the Americans will also need their top attacking players to carry the offensive freight.  In players like Danny Nelson, Carey Terrance, and Brandon Svoboda, the U.S. has players who should be well suited to the sort of depth minutes Vanbiesbrouck described, but firepower is awfully important too at a two-week tournament.  The US has that firepower at its disposal, beginning with the all Boston College top line of Gabe Perreault, James Hagens, and Ryan Leonard.

Hagens (a strong candidate to be the number one overall pick at the 2025 NHL Draft) replaced Will Smith (now with the San Jose Sharks) on a line that helped guide the Eagles to the National Championship Game a year ago and helped Team USA win gold.  Perreault (son of former 14-year NHL veteran Yanic) is the most dynamic French Canadian prospect since at least Alexis Lafreniere, though of course he represents the U.S.  He is as gifted a scorer as any player at the tournament.  The rugged Leonard is a physical monster with an insatiable desire to get to the net and create offense once he gets there.  That trio is as imposing as any at the tournament and has the added benefit of playing together full time at BC, instead of just coming together for the WJC.

On the back end, Zeev Buium (younger brother of Red Wing prospect Shai) has a strong chance to be the best defenseman at the tournament, playing a uniquely canny and deceptive game that allows him to be a one-man breakout when he needs to be while also more than capable of distributing and creating offense from the O zone.

While the Americans don't want to put themselves in a position of trading chances or running and gunning through this tournament, to reach the heights they aspire to, Team USA's offensive stars will have to play up to their billing.

Related: World Junior Championship 2025: Full Team USA Schedule

Also from THN Detroit

Red Wings Wrong Strategy Proving Costly

No Reason to Cheer as Red Wings Blanked 4–0 by Visiting Blues

What to Watch For: Red Wings Prospects at the World Junior

Former Red Wing Sets New Team Record

Red Wings Sink to New Low in 5–1 Loss in Montreal

Related: 2025 WJC: Team USA vs. Germany Lines, Where To Watch