SAINT PAUL -- Cole Hutson, Team USA's alternate captain and No. 1 defenseman, will be sidelined for at least Monday night's game against Slovakia at the World Junior Championship. Hutson left Saturday night's game against Switzerland on a stretcher and was taken to a nearby hospital where he was cleared and later released to rejoin his team. USA Hockey is listing Hutson as day-to-day.

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Hutson was with Team USA at their practice Sunday, but did not participate. By sitting out Monday's game, Hutson will get another day of rest as USA does not play on Tuesday. There's at least a chance he could be able to play in the New Year's Eve showdown against Sweden that could determine the final seeding for Group A.

Considering the scene Saturday night where Hutson was laying motionless on the ice, it feels miraculous that there's even a chance he could return to play. However, the stretcher and backboard were precautionary.

Teammate Cole Eiserman said after practice on Sunday that the team is hopeful they will get him back into the lineup, stating that "knowing Hutty, he's going to want to be out there."

Head coach Bob Motzko will have to shuffle things around with Hutson out. Team USA has one extra defeneman and will dress Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen, who sat out Saturday's game against Switzerland. They will lean more heavily on Hutson's regular defense partner, Adam Kleber. Additionally, it appears 2026 NHL Draft-eligible defenseman Chase Reid will take Hutson's spot on USA's top power play unit.

Team USA is 2-0-0-0 so far in tournament play. A win over Slovakia sets up a game for the No. 1 seed in Group A on New Year's Eve when USA meets Sweden. That means whoever takes first in the group will get to play the fourth-place team from the other group, which would likely be Latvia or Denmark. Winning on New Year's Eve could be a rather large key to advancing deeper into the tournament. Group B features Canada, Finland and Czechia, each of whom look like medal threats so far. One of those teams will finish in third place and take on the second-place team from Group A.

The primary thing to be concerned about, however, is Hutson's health. If he is cleared to play, it will be because all indications are that he has a clean bill of health. If he's unavailable, USA will have a much tougher road ahead.

Hutson was the leading scorer at last year's World Junior Championship and is on the verge of putting his name atop another record in USA Hockey's books. He is one point away from matching Erik Johnson's U.S. record for career points by a defenseman at the World Juniors. Hutson is already tied with Ryan Suter for the most assists by an American defenseman at the WJC with 10. 

USA meets Slovakia at 6 p.m. ET at Grand Casino Arena. The game will be carried on NHL Network in the United States.

2026 World Junior Championship Teams

View the list of teams, by group, for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Group A

• USA
• Germany
• Switzerland
• Sweden
• Slovakia

Group B

• Canada
• Czechia
• Latvia
• Denmark
• Finland

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