Bill Guerin, the general manager of USA Hockey, has made it clear that he expects players to participate in the IIHF World Championship. Guerin believes that it has become too routine for American players to decline invitations to play in the tournament after their NHL seasons end. He wants to see how these bubble players perform in meaningful games and believes that the world championships are extremely important.
Some players who may have been targeted by Guerin include Zach Werenski, Johnny Gaudreau, Seth Jones, Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Clayton Keller, and Matt Boldy. While not all of them made the trip overseas, Boldy and Gaudreau have certainly helped their cause. Boldy was leading the tournament in points with 14 in eight games before the US was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Gaudreau became the United States’ all-time leading scorer in World Championship history with 43 points.
Guerin, who is also Boldy’s GM in Minnesota, has been impressed with Boldy’s performance in the tournament. He has been playing the game the right way and has been enjoying his time overseas. Guerin believes that Boldy has been making good choices and decisions with the puck, not just focusing on offense. Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” has also been playing well and has been a point machine for the team.
Brady Tkachuk, the captain of the Ottawa Senators and son of Guerin’s former USA Hockey linemate Keith Tkachuk, has also impressed Guerin. Tkachuk has been the leader of the team and has delivered on all fronts, solidifying his spot on the roster.
Guerin has also been keeping an eye on potential bubble players Cole Caufield and Trevor Zegras. Caufield has shown promise with a couple of goals in a group stage win over Latvia, while Zegras is still trying to figure out how to blend his game with the team’s style of play. Guerin believes it is beneficial to have younger players like Gavin Brindley, Ryan Leonard, and Will Smith around the NHLers, even if they don’t get much ice time. They can learn from the experience and see how things operate at the international level.
Overall, Guerin has been pleased with what he has seen from the team as a whole. He believes that many of the players have done exactly what has been asked of them and have taken the tournament seriously. However, Guerin acknowledges that the decisions on the final rosters for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off and Olympics will be difficult. With a deep talent pool, there will inevitably be disappointed players, but Guerin is confident that the US has the players to compete with anyone in the world.
In June, USA Hockey, along with Canada, Sweden, and Finland, will name their first six roster players for the 4 Nations Face-off. These decisions may be relatively easy compared to the later ones. Guerin knows that there will be difficult decisions to make due to the number of talented players available. However, his priority is to assemble a team that can win and compete at the highest level.