The standard has shifted. The U.S. National Junior Team is no longer entering tournaments with hope. The go into every World Junior Championship with expectations and the 2023 edition will be no different. 

With four gold medals since 2010 after winning just once in the previous three decades of the tournament, the U.S. is now a perennial contender. The Americans have reached the podium eight times since their signature win over Canada in the 2010 World Juniors in Saskatoon. During the rescheduled summer World Juniors, however, Team USA fell well short of its expectations.

After going undefeated in preliminary play, the U.S. lost to Czechia 4-2 in the quarterfinals and didn't even have the opportunity to play for a medal. After winning the tournament in the 2021 bubble in Edmonton, it could not have been a more stunning result.

With eight returning players from that 2022 group, Team USA will enter the 2023 World Juniors with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. Outside of the World Juniors, the 2003 and 2004 birth years have had international success elude them, particularly at the World U18 Championship. The 2003s finished outside of the medals at the 2021 World U18s and last year's U18 team took silver in a heartbreaking championship game.

To say the motivation among these players is high would be a massive understatement, but they will have their work cut out for them.

Led by Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold, in his international head coaching debut, the U.S. National Junior Team will be playing all of their games in Moncton, New Brunswick in Group B play with hopes of staying there for the quarterfinals and then making it to Halifax, Nova Scotia for the semis and medal games. NHL Network will have live coverage of the World Junior Championship in the United States, while TSN is the official broadcaster of the tournament in Canada.

To get you ready for the WJC, here's a look at Team USA's strengths, weaknesses, projected lineup and more.

📸 from last night's pre-tournament dub#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/bSiBlPidgv

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) December 22, 2022

Team USA Overview

The U.S. roster is one that will be hoping to be opportunistic in transition, quick in their puck movements and aim to play an aggressive puck possession game. They're not going to have an especially big group in terms of physical size and strength, so they will have to rely more on their skill and work ethic to get the job done.

The American team has a talented blue line that is almost entirely quick puck-moving defensemen who like to get up in the play. Expect them to be aggressive in creating offense from the blue line and taking some risks. It can be dangerous, but it's the way the U.S. will have to play in order to generate the offense necessary to compete with top teams. 

The U.S. may move pucks fast, but their forward group as a whole isn't full of burners in terms of skating. There are absolutely skilled, fast guys on the team with Logan Cooley (ARI) at the top of that list, but there may not be enough of them to beat teams purely with speed. So it will take good puck management, effective passing through the neutral zone and making the smart, simple plays when they're available.

Goaltending is a bit of a concern, though Kaidan Mbereko and Trey Augustine have each had strong seasons coming into the tournament.

The U.S. has a number of players with WJC experience and should be leaning especially heavily on some of those veterans. USA captain Luke Hughes (NJD) could be the team's most important player because he has the skating and skill level to take over shifts and dominate play. With Hughes and Cooley, the U.S. will have two of the best NHL prospects playing in this tournament, but it's going to take all 22 players to have a chance against the best teams.

Returning Players

Sean Behrens (COL), Logan Cooley (ARI), Luke Hughes (NJD), Kaidan Mbereko (undrafted), Andrew Oke (undrafted), Jack Peart (MIN), Red Savage (DET) and Charlie Stramel (2023).

Team USA's Projected Lineup

Cutter Gauthier (PHI) - Logan Cooley (ARI) - Jimmy Snuggerud (STL)
Rutger McGroarty (WPG) - Chaz Lucius (WPG) - Jackson Blake (CAR)
Dylan Duke (TBL) - Red Savage (DET) - Tyler Boucher (OTT)
Kenny Connors (LAK) - Charlie Stramel (2023) - Gavin Brindley (2023)
Sam Lipkin (ARI)

Jack Peart (MIN) - Luke Hughes (NJD)
Lane Hutson (MTL) - Ryan Chesley (WSH)
Sean Behrens (COL) - Ryan Ufko (NSH)
Luke Mittelstadt (undrafted)

Kaidan Mbereko (undrafted)
Trey Augustine (2023)
Andrew Oke (undrafted)

Power Play 1: Luke Hughes (top), Logan Cooley (left flank), Cutter Gauthier (right flank), Rutger McGroarty (bumper), Tyler Boucher (net-front)

Power Play 2: Ryan Ufko (top), Jimmy Snuggerud (left flank), Jackson Blake (right flank), Chaz Lucius (bumper), Dylan Duke (net-front)

Injury Alternates: Seamus Casey (NJD), Noah Laba (NYR). The U.S. brought 25 players, but can only register 23 players to play in games. As of Dec. 25, 23 players were registered, meaning Casey and Laba will only play in the event of an injury and whoever they replace would not be able to return to the active roster.

Strengths

The U.S. has a lot of skill up and down their lineup with four lines that could conceivably score, a top line that can match up with any team's in this tournament, an especially mobile D corps and some higher-end goal-scoring talents dotting their lineup. Team USA expects to play fast and put pressure on the opposing teams in transition. They'll also have two loaded power play groups that they've spread out the scoring on to give the U.S. two dangerous looks.

Cutter Gauthier buries it after some nice puck movement from the US.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/DZtTaZIZJz

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 21, 2022

The U.S. is also going to be expecting some offense to come from their blue line. They went for skill and skating over size as a priority, which is going to allow their blue liners the chance to get up in the play more. Having the quality skill on the back end gives the U.S. more threats for the opposition to be aware of. Luke Hughes and Lane Hutson are experts at bringing pucks deeper into the offensve zone and creating more havoc with their skill. Hughes is a legitimate goal-scoring threat from the back end, while Hutson is a sensational playmaker who gets a lot of pucks into dangerous areas for his teammates to generate chances.

There's a decent grit factor among their forwards as well. Tyler Boucher and Charlie Stramel can pack a bit of a physical punch and use size and strength effectively. Red Savage is going to be a primary penalty killer and has enough offensive ability to be a shorthanded threat, while also being an important forechecker. Though Jimmy Snuggerud and Cutter Gauthier are top-line scorers, they also can get after it off the puck and play a physical style that grates on opponents. The U.S. clearly has a work ethic about them that they're not going to be intimidated.

Rand Pecknold's teams at Quinnipiac often dominate the puck possession game. They have balanced scoring and the top-end guys get a little more leeway for creativity and offensive aggressiveness. That should probably work with this U.S. team, too. They don't have to always go for the home run play, but they need to be able to get pucks up ice quickly and then establish some zone time at the other team's end of the ice. It should be interesting to see because I think they have the personnel to do this rather effectively.

"Rand's a Winner"

High praise from @usahockey GM John Vanbiesbrouck on our leader 😤

Full Q&A: https://t.co/R7fGJWUOwC#BobcatNation | #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/BuIuU6VRz0

— Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) December 20, 2022

Weaknesses

The U.S. clearly chose skill over size when they built their D corps and while I'm fascinated to see how it works, I do have some general concerns about Team USA's ability to defend. They're going to see a lot of bigger forwards in this tournament, especially if they ever meet Team Canada and if it gets into a battle of physical strength and interior play, it's going to be very difficult for the U.S. to win those types of games. They're going to need their forwards helping and the centers especially have to help out in the middle of the defensive zone.

Goaltending is another area that is going to be somewhat of a concern. Mbereko had a strong WJC in the summer until the quarterfinal game where he gave up a few soft goals including one that you simply can't allow at this level. He lacks size, but Mbereko is a competitor and has quickness. He's just not terribly predictable and is liable to give up the big goal every now and again. The Americans could potentially get Trey Augustine in there as well, but he's 17 years old and has never experienced a stage like the World Juniors. You really never know what you have until the games start, but in the years that the U.S. has won the championship, with the exception of 2010, there was stability in net. We'll have to wait and see if they have that here.

This may not ultimately be that concerning a weakness, but there is no question that opposing teams will be spending a lot of their focus on how to shut down the top line of Cooley, Snuggerud and Gauthier. If a team succeeds in that endeavor, and it won't be easy, the U.S. has to prove its other three lines can contribute. 

The second line of Lucius, McGroarty and Blake certainly has the skill to produce, but they give away a lot in the speed department, which makes them a little more containable than the Cooley line. Meanwhile, USA's third line is long on grit, but may not have the same level of finish though Dylan Duke is a net-front savant, which could mitigate those concerns. The fourth line, however, has looked good in pre-tournament action and actually contributed some offense. 

Dylan Duke did what he does best, causes a screen and allows Jackson Blake the chance to make it 1-1. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/7Sg0xKWkud

— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) December 19, 2022

Still, when the games go live, there will always be a question if this U.S. side has enough top to bottom offense, and again the scoring concerns could be mitigated by their especially active defense. I just think there's a pretty dramatic drop between USA's first line and the rest of the group, which hasn't always been the case for U.S. entries at the World Juniors. It will be something I'm paying close attention to.

Outlook

This U.S. roster has every reason to believe they can contend for the gold medal in this tournament. While Canada has a deeper, more complete team, the American side has enough talent to challenge the very best teams at this event. Getting through the preliminary round and nabbing one of the top two spots in the standings will be critical for the matchups in the quarterfinal as the other side of the bracket has Canada, Sweden and Czechia which is a fairly strong trio of teams.

The World Juniors has been a place where anything can happen. This certainly will not be among the best U.S. teams that USA Hockey has ever sent to this tournament, at least not on paper, but the expectations will be no different. They can and should expect to win, but now they have to prove it on the ice.