DU and Team USA Head Coach David Carle has gathered his squad to defend their IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa, Ontario Canada. The first  pre-competition game for Team USA begins December 19th against Slovakia in Kingston, Ontario, followed by a final pre-tourney game against Finland in Cornwall, Ontario on December 21.  The USA takes to the ice for their first official tournament game on December 26th against Germany at the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa, where the team will play in Pool A. You can find the full tournament schedule here. The US team just arrived at the Invista Centre, Team USA’s home for the next three days as it prepares for the aforementioned Slovakia  pre-tournament matchup in Kingston.

The USA team roster is stacked with NCHC players and nine players from Boston University and Boston College. Only one DU player, Zeev Buium, will be skating for David Carle. Carle has retained the same coaching staff from last year’s Gold Medal team. Some familiar assistant coaches on that staff (for DU fans) include former DU assistant coach Steve Miller (now assistant coach at  Minnesota ) who is guiding Team USA’s penalty kill, as well as St Cloud head coach Brett Larson, who is handling Team USA’s power play. Team USA Equipment managers Scott Aldrich and DU’s own Nick Meldrum drove a 26-foot truck with the team’s equipment and medical supplies from Plymouth, Michigan, to Kingston, Ontario. Detroit Red Wings head coach (and former DU assistant coach) Derek Lalonde met with the team and had dinner with Carle and his staff before their trip to Kingston.

As for the betting odds, the USA is unsurprisingly favored to repeat at +135 according to Unibet, an official sponsor of the 2025 World Junior Championship. Also unsurprisingly, Canada has the next shortest odds at +180 followed by Sweden (+475), and Finland (+700) to round out the four favorites. After Finland, all other countries are +2500 or longer to take home the Gold. Kazakhstan, participating in the top flight competition for the first time since 2020, has the longest odds of the 10 nations in the tournament to win the championship at +25000.

The following 29 players are competing  to make the final 25-player roster:

USA HOCKEY SELECT CAMP ROSTER

GOALIES: * Trey Augustine, Michigan State, NCAA (Detroit Red Wings); * Samuel Hillebrandt, Barrie, OHL (2025 draft eligible); Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan, NCAA (Los Angeles Kings)

DEFENSEMEN: * Zeev Buium, Denver, NCAA (Minnesota Wild); EJ Emery, North Dakota, NCAA (New York Rangers); Blake Fiddler, Edmonton, WHL (2025 draft eligible); Paul Fischer, Notre Dame, NCAA (Edmonton Oilers); * Drew Fortescue, Boston College, NCAA (New York Rangers); Logan Hensler, Wisconsin, NCAA (2025 draft eligible); Cole Hutson, Boston University, NCAA (Washington Capitals); Adam Kleber, Minnesota Duluth, NCAA (Buffalo Sabres); * Aram Minnetian, Boston College, NCAA (Dallas Stars); Colin Ralph, St. Cloud State, NCAA (St. Louis Blues)

FORWARDS: Austin Burnevik, St. Cloud State, NCAA (Anaheim Ducks); Trevor Connelly, Providence, NCAA (Vegas Golden Knights); Cole Eiserman, Boston University, NCAA (New York Islanders); James Hagens, Boston College, NCAA (2025 draft eligible); * Ryan Leonard, Boston College, NCAA (Washington Capitals); * Oliver Moore, Minnesota, NCAA (Chicago Blackhawks); * Danny Nelson, Notre Dame, NCAA (New York Islanders); Christopher Pelosi, Quinnipiac, NCAA (Boston Bruins); Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth, NCAA (Detroit Red Wings); * Gabe Perreault, Boston College, NCAA (New York Rangers); AJ Spellacy, Windsor, OHL (Chicago Blackhawks); Teddy Stiga, Boston College, NCAA (Nashville Predators); Brandon Svoboda, Boston University, NCAA (San Jose Sharks); * Carey Terrance, Erie, OHL (Anaheim Ducks); Joey Willis, Saginaw, OHL (Nashville Predators); Brodie Ziemer, Minnesota, NCAA (Buffalo Sabres)

* — Denotes returning player

Photo: Courtesy of USA Hockey