The process to build rosters for the World Junior Championship really starts in the summer. Last week, players from USA, Sweden, Finland and Canada descended on Plymouth, Michigan to make an impression on the coaching staffs and decision-makers from their respective countries as they vie for spots on the rosters for the World Juniors.

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The U.S. had 46 players in camp, which gave the staff and all of us an opportunity to get a look at the group that hopes to repeat as gold medalists at the World Juniors after taking the title in 2024. Team USA has never won back-to-back gold medals at the World Juniors, a feat that is often harder than it looks with the year-over-year roster turnover.

USA, however, will have the luxury of having as many as 11 returnees eligible to play. While center Will Smith has signed with the San Jose Sharks, it’s not out of the question he could be loaned out if the Sharks are having a tough time this season. I wouldn’t call it likely, but it is possible for Team USA to bring back almost half of its roster from the 2024 championship team.

There are plenty of spots still up for grabs and the evaluation process will continue well into the fall. But now that camp has ended and after spending all of last week in Plymouth making notes and observations of my own, I thought I’d offer my own projection for how the roster could look in December for Team USA.

Again, the evaluation process will include the remainder of the fall first half of the season and that should be a critical evaluation period for many players. Summer hockey can only offer so much of a glimpse.

This roster projection is not only based on camp, but on the players’ entire body of work and if I think they will do enough in the first half of the season to make the final roster. Team USA can take 14 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders. They can only have 23 players on the active roster at any one time, and if any player needs to be replaced, they cannot return. 

So this is a roster projections that includes those extras, and (for now) will not include Smith.

Team USA 2025 World Juniors Early Roster Projection

Gabe Perreault (NYR) – James Hagens (2025) – Ryan Leonard (WSH)
Quentin Musty (SJS) – Oliver Moore (CHI) – Cole Eiserman (NYI)
Trevor Connelly (VGK) – Danny Nelson (NYI) – Brodie Ziemer (BUF)
Brandon Svoboda (SJS) – Carey Terrance (ANA) – Noah Powell (PHI)
Max Plante (DET) – Beckett Hendrickson (BOS)

Zeev Buium (MIN) – Drew Fortescue (NYR)
Cole Hutson (WSH) – EJ Emery (NYR)
Zach Schulz (NYI) – Aram Minnetian (DAL)
Paul Fischer (STL) – Adam Kleber (BUF)

Trey Augustine (DET)
Hampton Slukynsky (LAK)
Nick Kempf (WSH)

Forwards

The U.S. roster can change dramatically if Will Smith gets loaned by the Sharks. He’d certainly be reunited with his two linemates from Boston College, Perreault and Leonard, and that frees up James Hagens to be the No. 2 center and potentially play between Eiserman and Musty, who he played with on the last day of camp.

USA’s staff says they want four lines that can score and this group should be able to do it.

Among the players that had a strong camp, Brandon Svoboda, Noah Powell, Max Plante, Brodie Ziemer and Beckett Hendrickson were guys I didn’t necessarily see on the final roster this year, but they put themselves on the map last week. You could also put Chris Pelosi (BOS) in that mix, based on his camp, but I ran out of room to add him. They’ll need to continue that level of play in the first half, but each of those players mentioned gave themselves a great chance with how they performed with the group.

All of the returnees up fronts are locks to make it, as is Hagens. Beyond that, there will be question marks like if the team has the ability to take each of Cole Eiserman, Quentin Musty and/or Trevor Connelly, who was not in camp due to injury, but very much in the mix. Each of those players bring an element Team USA needs, but there will be discussions about fit, role and more that could nudge one of them out. USA wants to score and each of those players help you do that, even if there are some risks.

USA has to decide who is playing up to the standard they need in the fall and can make those decisions accordingly.

Defense

There are going to be a number of question marks there. Both Zeev Buium and Drew Fortescue, as returnees from last year’s team are certain to be there next winter. After that, I think you’ll also see Cole Hutson as the No. 2 power-play defenseman behind Buium.

From there it gets muddy. Aram Minnetian didn’t have a good camp, but was an alternate on last year’s team and I thought he played well at the end of last season with Boston College. I have a harder time envisioning him being left home even if I thought his week in Plymouth was not up to par.

EJ Emery is another player that I would feel comfortable putting on the roster at this early stage as a potential top-four guy or even in a shutdown role alongside someone like Paul Schulz, who captained USA’s U18 gold-medal team in 2023. Emery and Hutson would also make a familiar pair if USA decides to go that route.

After that, it’s really anyone’s guess. I think the bubble for defensemen is large and there wasn’t a lot of separation created in camp. I liked Adam Kleber in camp as a big-body, sure-handed defenseman who makes a good first pass and has mobility to defend. 

The bubble for that last spot is going to be especially big. I ended up going with Paul Fischer, who is a very similar player to Zach Schulz, but if we're talking about an extra defenseman, that might be alright. I also think Logan Hensler (2025) could be in the mix for a final roster spot if he has a strong enough first half at Wisconsin, but I thought there were enough glimpses in camp of why he might not be ready even if he's a top defense prospect for this year's draft.

I have a feeling the defense is going to take all fall to build and there could be a few surprise invites to camp in Decemeber to make sure they’re not missing anything. USA’s blue line should have a good mix of size, mobility and skill in this year’s tournament nonetheless. 

Goaltending

This is probably the easiest position to pick coming out of camp. Trey Augustine is the incumbent starter and the lock to be USA’s No. 1 in Ottawa.

After him, Hampton Slukynsky went into camp as the favorite to make the final roster as the No. 2 goalie and I don’t think anything that happened last week would dissuade anyone from continuing to believe that. He had a nice showing against Canada and should get enough reps at Western Michigan this year to make his case further.

Lastly, I think Team USA will want their No. 3 goalie to be eligible to return the following year. Nick Kempf is the only player that fits that bill. He likely won’t see much, if any time in the net, but he can experience the World Juniors and prepare himself for being USA’s likely starter in 2026 in Minnesota.

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