Predicting Team USA's Roster for the 2025 World Cup of Hockey

Being tapped to be the imaginary general manager of Team USA for the 2025 World Cup of Hockey is a tremendous honor I was proud to accept. (That is if the World Cup of Hockey happens at all. The tournament has already been delayed by a year from its original date.)

After all, it’s got to be a breeze to select an all-star team of players out of the pool of Americans that's grown in the number of elite players and talent level over the years.

How could it be difficult? No matter what, you can't go wrong…right?

Looking three years into the future means taking aging into account and who might get better or return to the pack with time. It also means looking further to players who may not be in the NHL now but might be big-impact players in three years.

I selected three goalies, a full complement of defensemen and forwards, with two extras for each. That's 25 players, and sorting through the numerous contenders to cut it down to that number was tricky.

Here in America, we value speed, skill, scoring and being able to annoy the absolute garbage out of our opponents. If you're not causing the opposition to want to rip their hair out by filling up their net or jamming a glove in their face during a scrum, you're fighting an uphill battle to represent the Red, White and Blue.

Team USA Goalies

AP Photo/Sergei Grits

The Stars' Jake Oettinger could be between the pipes for Team USA in 2025.

No. 1: Jake Oettinger

No. 2: Connor Hellebuyck

No. 3: Thatcher Demko

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When it comes to goaltending, there are four goalies who fit the bill. Unfortunately, only three can be picked.

The choices come down to Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger, Thatcher Demko and Spencer Knight. Trying to project where all four will be in three years is enough to make your brain tired. Three of them are starters, one of them has won the award as the NHL's best goalie and one is stuck as a backup.

Hellebuyck is the oldest of the four, but goalies don’t generally lose much of a step as they get older. The 2020 Vezina Trophy winner will be 32 by the time the World Cup starts, and despite the workload and action he’s faced in Winnipeg, legacy goes a long way in the U.S.—he’s in.

Oettinger has arrived at last in Dallas, and he’s been electric for the Stars. The 23-year-old was outstanding in the playoffs, and he’s been superb this season. Goalies can be streaky and all that, but Oettinger very well could be the United States’ No. 1 goalie for some time should his play continue down his path.

The third spot comes down to Demko and Knight, and the former has shown excellent consistency with the Canucks in his first few seasons.

The 26-year-old is having a rough time this year, but so has most of Vancouver’s roster. Knight has been outstanding in the amount of work he’s had in Florida, but the 21-year-old has yet to force the Panthers to move on from Sergei Bobrovsky. That day is coming eventually and then we’ll really see what he’s all about. Give the slight edge to Demko.

Team USA Defensemen

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The Canucks' Quinn Hughes will be on the blue line for Team USA in 2025.

First pair: Zach Werenski, Adam Fox

Second pair: Quinn Hughes, Charlie McAvoy

Third pair: Jaccob Slavin, Seth Jones

Extras: Mattias Samuelsson, K’Andre Miller

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The American blue-line depth is vast, and when it’s World Cup of Hockey time in 2025, there'll be a lot of talent available. The American top four seems like a virtual slam dunk.

Adam Fox has won a Norris Trophy, and Charlie McAvoy may not be far behind him in winning one. Both 24 years old and Long Island born and bred, these two right-handed shooters will anchor the right side and play a ton of minutes as well as crush it on the power-play units.

On the left side, 25-year-old Zach Werenski’s two-way strength gives him the ability to blend in well with Fox, who enjoys pushing the puck up ice and generating offense. The Michigan native will still be in the prime of his career for the World Cup of Hockey.

Quinn Hughes, 23, is an offensive dynamo who, ideally, in three years will have improved his defense enough to not have it be a potential issue. Pairing him with McAvoy will allow Hughes more freedom to do what he does best.

Having Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jones on the third pair makes the American defensive corps difficult to prepare for. Both are outstanding two-way players capable of creating offense and carrying the puck as well as playing strong, physical defense. Both 28-year-olds will be in their 30s when the World Cup takes place, but they'll still have plenty to contribute, particularly as a bottom pair.

Wisconsin native K’Andre Miller’s play so far with the Rangers indicates he would be an excellent option to switch things up if needed, and 22-year-old Mattias Samuelsson also earns a spot as an extra. Mikey Anderson and Jake Sanderson may prove themselves in the next couple of years to be capable contenders for the team, but it’ll take some very strong play to unseat others.

Team USA Forwards

AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes

Brady Tkachuk will ruffle some feathers as part of the Team USA forward group.

First line: Jason Robertson, Auston Matthews, Alex DeBrincat

Second line: Matthew Tkachuk, Jack Eichel, Cole Caufield

Third line: Brady Tkachuk, Tage Thompson, Jack Hughes

Fourth line: Johnny Gaudreau, Matty Beniers, Trevor Zegras

Extras: Kyle Connor, Jake Guentzel

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This was incredibly difficult to figure out. The U.S. has a ton of outstanding centers and left wings, and arguably two spots in the starting 12 could have centers playing “out of position” at right wing as opposed to having natural right wings in those spots. It is a little risky to do that, but here in America, we want the best players regardless of position.

Up the middle, Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel are as automatic as it gets.

The 25-year-old Matthews is one of the NHL's best and the reigning Hart Trophy winner. Eichel, healthy after 2021 neck surgery, will have years in Vegas to show exactly why he came into the NHL with so much hype in 2015 out of Boston University.

Tage Thompson, 25, has exploded onto the scene as one of the NHL's top centers with skill and shooting prowess for days. Matty Beniers, who will be just 23 in 2025, is already showing fans in Seattle how good he is—and how good he’ll be in three years should be something else.

I’d be remiss to not have 21-year-olds Jack Hughes and Trevor Zegras on the team as well, and the U.S. will need them for their ability to create and fill the net. I’m putting them on the right wing on separate lines despite their left-handed shooting. When players can create and shoot like they can, it doesn’t matter where they are on the ice, just so long as they’re on it.

The other two right wings—Alex DeBrincat, 24, and Cole Caufield, 21—are dynamic goal scorers and capable forecheckers who can turn the game on its head with a steal and a snipe. Lining them up with Matthews and Eichel, respectively, is like giving those centers dynamite to play with.

On the left wing, having California-born Jason Robertson on the top line with Matthews means having two MVP-level performers working together to ruin other teams’ goaltending. Both pulled in Hart votes last season, and there’s not much reason they’ll get worse before the World Cup.

Arizona natives Brady and Matthew Tkachuk are slam dunks to be on the team and upset opponents deeply. Regardless of which line you put them on, their ability to score, play physically and create mayhem sets them apart and provides an element to drive Canada (and others) out of their minds.

The fourth spot on the left wing is tricky, but when the World Cup comes around, Johnny Gaudreau will be 32 and an esteemed veteran. His ability to score a ton may wane in that time, but he’s dynamic, and piling up points comes naturally. Having him as the grizzled vet on a line with Beniers and Zegras will help them give the U.S. a full four-line attack squad.

Picking two extras might’ve been the most difficult part of this.

It would be tragic to leave routine 30- to 40-goal scorer Kyle Connor off this roster. As a natural left wing, the Michigan-born 25-year-old is the obvious contender to take Gaudreau’s spot. The one part that takes away from Connor’s game is he’s not strong defensively. But we want goals, dang it, and that’s one thing he excels at.

It’s also something Jake Guentzel is great at too. The Penguins star winger hasn’t just fed off playing with Sidney Crosby, he can fill the net on his own too. Yes, he’s also a left wing, but again, goals. We like goals.

Leaving Matt Boldy, Clayton Keller, Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller, Troy Terry and Alex Tuch out of the mix was hard to do, but hard decisions come with great responsibility.

If America is going to win the World Cup of Hockey, this crew has an outstanding opportunity to do it.