Attached is the preliminary world junior championship roster for Team USA, which consists of 28 names (25 skaters, 3 goaltenders). Each team’s roster is restricted to 25 players (22 skaters, 3 goaltenders) come tournament time. Team USA will open training camp on December 15 in Duluth, MN to choose its final roster.
The most significant losses suffered by the Americans were the departures of Washington Caps forward Ryan Leonard, Hartford Wolf Pack (NY Rangers) forward Gabe Perreault, and Michigan State University (Detroit Red Wings) goaltender Trey Augustine. There is no replacing Augustine, who played a key role in backstopping Team USA to back-to-back gold medals. The University of Notre Dame’s Nick Kempf will be this year’s presumed starting netminder, with the USHL’s Caleb Heil and the WHL’s AJ Reyelts serving as his backups. Kempf has managed to put up respectable numbers this season despite the Fighting Irish’s struggles, posting a 3.22 goals against average and .902 save percentage.
Fortunately for the Americans, they do have a number of returning forwards attempting to fill the void left by the Leonard and Perrault departures. The most notable of these players are Boston College’s James Hagens (BOS), Boston University’s Cole Eiserman (NYI), & the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s Max Plante (DET), who will have to play larger roles for Team USA to have success. To that end, Plante has 26 points (13G 13A) in 16 games to lead the NCAA in scoring.
Finally, there is the addition of d-man Chase Reid of the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds, who is looking to secure a spot on Team USA’s final roster. Reid was not invited to the World Junior Summer Showcase, but since then the projected 2026 first-round pick has impressed with his efforts during both the OHL regular season and the CHL USA Prospects Challenge. He would make for a nice addition to Team USA’s offensive attack, as he has averaged more than a point per game this season for the Greyhounds.