World Junior Hockey 2015 USA Roster: 22-Man Team for Championships

For 22 of the best young hockey players from across the United States, the best gift of the holiday season didn't come gift-wrapped, stuffed under a tree or with a neatly tied bow. It came in the form of an announcement.

U.S. general manager Jim Johannson revealed on Christmas the final 22-man roster for the United States team set to compete at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships, per USAHockey.com. It couldn't have been an easy decision for the USA Hockey staff to make on such an important holiday, as only one final cut was needed before the tournament.

Defenseman Steven Santini was the last player dropped from the squad. An unfortunate wrist injury prevented him from making the team.

"We wanted to see where Steve was after he had the cast removed and it's clear he needs more time before he's ready to play," Johannson said.

The tournament, which takes place from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Montreal and Toronto, Canada, features 10 teams vying for one of the most coveted gold medals in youth hockey. 

This under-20 competition will feature some of the most talented young forwards, blueliners and netminders in the world, and the United States roster more than holds its own against traditionally strong hockey countries like Canada and Russia.

Here is a look at the complete roster:

No.	Name	Birthdate	Most Recent Team
Forwards
7	JT Compher	4/8/95	University of Michigan
8	Nick Schmaltz	2/23/96	University of North Dakota
9	Jack Eichel	10/28/96	Boston University
10	Anthony Louis	2/10/95	Miami University
11	Miles Wood	9/13/95	Noble and Greenough School
13	Sonny Milano	5/12/95	Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
14	Tyler Motte	3/10/95	University of Michigan
15	John Hayden	2/14/95	Yale University
17	Alex Tuch	5/10/96	Boston College
18	Chase De Leo	10/25/95	Portland Winterhawks
21	Dylan Larkin	7/30/96	University of Michigan
22	Hudson Fasching	7/28/95	University of Minnesota
34	Auston Matthews	9/17/97	U.S. National Under-18 Team
Defensemen
2	Noah Hanifin	1/25/97	Boston College
3	Ian McCoshen	8/5/95	Boston College
4	Will Butcher	1/6/95	University of Denver
6	Ryan Collins	5/6/96	University of Minnesota
23	Zach Werenski	7/19/97	University of Michigan
24	Anthony DeAngelo	10/24/95	Sarnia Sting (OHL)
26	Brandon Carlo	11/26/96	Tri-City Americans (WHL)
Goaltenders
29	Brandon Halverson	3/29/96	Soo Greyhounds (OHL)
30	Thatcher Demko	12/8/95	Boston College
31	Alex Nedeljkovic	1/7/96	Plymouth Whalers (OHL)

The tournament starts off with a round-robin preliminary round with the 10 teams broken up into two groups of five. The United States starts its journey to the gold Friday in Group A against defending champion Finland. The other three teams in the group are Canada, Slovakia and Germany. 

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Team USA will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing fifth-place finish in the 2014 version of the tournament, which took place in Malmo, Sweden. Five players on this year's squad were members of that 2014 team, including forward Hudson Fasching, whom SB Nation's Nathan Wells believes the team will be counting on his experience to shine through in this tournament:

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In addition to other new responsibilities Fasching, who has spent the entire season on Minnesota's top line with Kyle Rau, won't be a bottom-six player for Team USA.

Coming off a six game goalless streak to end the first half, Fasching, one season removed from 14 goals in 40 games, will be one of several players counted on to score against players his own age before coming back to Minnesota to help lead the Gophers to a second consecutive Big Ten regular season title.

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Fasching and Co. should get a boost this year from an improved Jack Eichel, the team captain and one of the best prospects in United States hockey. 

"He is very much the leader of this group," U.S. coach Mark Osiecki said of the 2015 NHL draft-eligible phenom, per USA Today's Kevin Allen.

Per Brion O'Connor, special to ESPNBoston.com, Fasching said: "He's an impressive player. His speed. He just explodes. You don't always realize how fast he is when you're out there, but he just flies. One time, I tried to drive wide, and I'm working so hard to get around him, and he just looks effortless. It just looks effortless." 

Tuneup matches have shown this team could indeed be ready for redemption. The United States defeated Sweden, competing in Group B, 10-5 on Tuesday. Coach Osiecki coaxed excellent performances from the entire attacking force, including two goals from forward Auston Matthews, the youngest player on the squad.

The Red, White and Blue also made an easy time of it Sunday in a 5-2 win over Germany, with five different players scoring goals. Goaltender Thatcher Demko, whom the Vancouver Canucks drafted in the second round of the 2014 NHL draft, has been in fine form and should be one of the leaders of this squad.

The exhibition results are encouraging, but nothing will come close to the intensity and seemingly nonstop action of the actual tournament. The United States finishes off the preliminaries on Dec. 31 with a game against Canada, which could be the litmus test that determines exactly how far this team goes in this tournament.

With experienced players like Fasching and defenseman Will Butcher sprinkled throughout the squad and young, sizzling talents like Eichel and Matthews, this U.S. tournament team has an excellent chance of improving upon the 2014 results and proving that this program is in no way sliding down the world ranks.

Note: for a complete look at event information, scheduling, tiebreakers and more, head to WorldJunior2015.com.