The U.S. National Junior Team has gone through almost all of its preparations prior to the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. Having just completed its second of two pre-tournament games against top-tier teams Finland and Sweden, the U.S. now has a few short practice days before opening up the tournament for real against Latvia.

Ahead of our formal Team USA World Junior preview, I thought I'd share a few observations from watching the two games and what they might tell us about Team USA.

Pre-Tournament Results

USA 5, Finland 2 -- Goals by Jackson Blake (CAR), Charlie Stramel (2023), Ryan Ufko (NSH), Ryan Chesley (WSH) and Logan Cooley (ARI)

USA 5, Sweden 1 -- Goals by Luke Hughes (NJD), Kenny Connors (LAK), Charlie Stramel (2023), Cutter Gauthier (PHI), Jimmy Snuggerud (STL)

Luke Hughes opens the scoring for Team USA off the turnover.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/79h05TJ2Lr

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 21, 2022

The U.S. was able to establish a strong possession game in both games and scored a lot with counter attacks and getting bodies to the middle of the ice. While the U.S. does not have speed throughout their lineup, they get pucks up ice quickly and had enough fluidity in their transition game to keep their opponents on the back foot more times than not. The U.S. got a lot more out of its second power play compared to its first unit with the second unit getting goals in both games.

Roster Taking Shape

The U.S. brought 25 players to Canada, but only 23 can be part of the final roster. Based on the way they were used in the pre-tournament games, it's looking more like USA's final roster decisions are coming down to either Luke Mittelstadt or Seamus Casey (NJD) on defense, and it will be either Noah Laba (NYR) or Sam Lipkin (ARI) at the forward position.

The U.S. does not have to register all 23 players by the first roster deadline. They can leave spots open for added flexibility. 

Mittelstadt helped his cause in the final pre-tournament game with an assist and appearances on USA's three-defensemen, one-forward setup on the penalty kill. Lipkin also got some looks on the PK. Meanwhile Laba saw his usage fairly limited. If I had to guess right now, Mittelstadt and Lipkin are the favorites for the final roster spots, but that decision may not be made right away.

How the U.S. is lining up in today's exhibition game vs Sweden! #WorldJuniors

Preview → https://t.co/eQkxrENXv4 pic.twitter.com/V8hmAFcJLg

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) December 21, 2022

Style Of Play

The U.S. wants to play with pace and they have a few lines that can do it. A lot of the speed they're able to generate comes from their ability to move pucks crisply and cleanly because this is not a roster that has speed all the way through.

Notably, their second line has a ton of offensive firepower, but not a lot of speed. The trio of Rutger McGroaarty (WPG), Chaz Lucius (WPG) and Jackson Blake (CAR) have shown their skill, but the pace could potentially hold them back. They showed they have the skill to get open looks and make plays, but they're a key to USA's scoring depth and weren't as effective at five-on-five as some of the other groups and especially not as threatening as USA's top line of Logan Cooley (ARI), Cutter Gauthier (PHI) and Jimmy Snuggerud (STL).

The U.S. was actually getting more consistent offensive pressure in the pre-tournament games from their fourth line of Charlie Stramel (2023), Gavin Brindley (2023) and Kenny Connors (LAK). Stramel had goals in each game, including a shorthanded tally against Sweden, while Brindley and Connors connected for a nifty goal in the second period against Sweden. 

Much has been made of the U.S. D corps because of how small it is and that was noticeable in the pre-tournament games. That said, USA's D can move pucks well and get them up ice in a hurry. The U.S. clearly wants their D being aggressive in the offensive zone and taking pucks up ice themselves when it's there. That said, there were some puck-management issues in both games that will need to be cleaned up before the games count. Even bearing that in mind, both Luke Hughes (NJD) and Lane Hutson (MTL) showed a tremendous ability to get up ice and be part of the attack in a very effective way.

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

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 21, 2022

You don't want to read too much into a pre-tournament game, because no one is going full-speed in those things, but the U.S. did manage to overwhelm Sweden's defense in the Swedish zone, which is going to be key for their success in the tournament. We'll see how that looks when everything ramps up in live game action.

Goaltending Coming Into Focus

Kaidan Mbereko stopped 15 of 16 shots in his only pre-tournament start against Sweden, while Trey Augustine made 22 saves on 24 shots against Finland Monday. I think that Mbereko had the inside track on the starting job and I don't know that he's done anything to suggest otherwise at this point. I think both goalies will get a start in the tournament, but Mbereko's experience may end up winning out.

Both netminders are capable, but they have enough flaws to give the coaching staff pause before handing the job to one of them. We'll see how it plays out, but I thought Mbereko had the kind of game he needed to have against Sweden and Augustine was only OK against Finland. We'll see where that goes in terms of who starts the first game for Team USA.

Special Teams Update

The U.S. scored two power-play goals over the two games, which is better than not scoring of course, but there's clear that some work needs to continue to be done. That's especially true of USA's first PP unit because they had a hard time getting a lot established. 

Special teams will always be the area that takes the longest to come together, but I thought the U.S. PK was largely solid.

USA's first power play unit is Luke Hughes (top) Logan Cooley (left flank), Cutter Gauthier (right flank), Rutger McGroarty (bumper) and Tyler Boucher (net-front).

USA's second power play is Jimmy Snuggerud (left flank), Ryan Ufko (top), Jackson Blank (right flank), Chaz Lucius (bumper) and Dylan Duke (net-front)

Jimmy Snuggerud snipes one home on the power-play to extend USA's lead.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/NE6LrWhmM5

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 21, 2022

The second unit got both goals with Blake and Snuggerud each converting on the power play. Ufko might be the big surprise of the group as he alternated with Lane Hutson on the second unit in the first pre-tournament game, but stayed there on his own in the second game. Ufko ended up with four points over the two pre-tournament games.

The U.S. used a number of players on the penalty kill, but clearly will lean heavily on Red Savage (DET) as their top PK forward. Others who should see regular time there include Jimmy Snuggerud (STL), Charlie Stramel (2023), Kenny Connors (LAK), Rutger McGroarty (WPG) among others. On the back end, the U.S. went by committee but Ryan Chesley (WSH) was a very frequent defenseman on the PK.

The U.S. also employed, occasionally, a three-defensemen PK with just one forward. It actually worked as Mittelstadt sprung Stramel for a short-handed one-timer that put a dagger in Sweden in the second period. Among the defensemen who saw time on USA's PK: Chesley, Mittelstadt, Jack Peart (MIN), Luke Hughes (NJD), Lane Hutson (MTL) and Sean Behrens (COL).

It Only Gets Tougher From Here

Pre-tournament games can be vital for preparation, but they don't always tell you everything you want to know. The U.S. is going to have some tougher battles come the preliminary-round. FInland will be a better team in a game that matters and Slovakia is not going to be simply a pushover. The U.S. has to focus on trying to win Group B to create a better path for themselves to the gold-medal game that almost inevitably would come against Canada.

The Americans' lack of size didn't hurt them in the pre-tournament games, but everything gets more physical from here. If they can have the puck as much as they did in their pre-tournament games, however, they're going to have a chance to control the game a bit more and the size concerns suddenly melt away.

This U.S. team has a good chance to be the top team in Group B and will have to take care of business starting Dec. 26 against Latvia in their tournament opener in Moncton.

Stay tuned for a full Team USA preview, complete with a projected final lineup, a closer look at the team's strengths and weaknesses, as well as more details coming soon.