In the 2021 championship game, the U.S. will try to win back-to-back titles for the first time after beating Canada 2-0. Canada was the last team to do so, winning five straight in 2005-09.
WJC 2022 will take place August 9-20 at Rogers Square in Edmonton. The competition was originally scheduled to run from December 26 to January. 5 But December 29 was delayed due to coronavirus concerns.
The United States will play Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and Austria in preliminary rounds in Group B. Group A consists of Canada, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Latvia.
Latvia was added to replace Russia, which was banned from international competitions due to its invasion of Ukraine.
Hughes, brother of the Vancouver Canucks guard Quinn Hughes and the devil center Jack Hughes, had 39 points (17 goals, 22 assists) in 41 games as a freshman at Michigan last season. The 18-year-old defenseman is a top-10 candidate for the Hobby Baker Memorial Award, awarded annually to honor NCAA men’s hockey players.
“It’s an honor to wear the jersey,” Hughes said. “Getting back out there and trying to defend that’s really important to US hockey and our country. I think it’s really exciting and we’re going to do our best. We’re going to play one game at a time and we’re really doing it as a team. very excited.”
[RELATED: World Junior Championship schedule | Group A preview]
The top four teams in each group will play the quarter-finals on August 17, the semi-finals on August 19, and the championship and third place matches on August 20.
There will be no relegation rounds, which means the same 10 teams will play in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick from December 26 to January 2023 Year WJC. 5.
All games will be broadcast on the NHL network in the US and TSN in Canada.
Here’s a look at each of the Group B teams, in order of predicted completion:
U.S.
coach: Nate Liman
2023 NHL Draft to watch: Charlie Stramel, F, US U-18 (NTDP)
schedule: Aug. 9, Germany (10pm ET); Aug. 11, Switzerland (10pm ET); Aug. 13, Austria (2pm ET); Aug. 14, Sweden (Eastern) time 10pm)
Appearance: After returning forwards Logan Cooley (Arizona Coyotes), Brett Bellard (New York Rangers) and Landon Sluggett (Chicago Blackhawks) and guard Brock Faber (Minnesota) Layman will incorporate fast and supportive play in the front and backcourt with the help of the Wild), Tyler Craven (Ottawa Senators) and Hughes. Goalkeepers Andrew Oke (2023 draft-eligible) and Kaidan Mbereko (2023 draft-eligible) have both impressed during development camp and are front-runners in the fight for minutes. Cooley, a freshman center at the University of Minnesota, finished second in the U.S. Hockey National Development Program under-18 last season, scoring 75 points (27 goals, 48 assists) in 51 games last season. At the 2022 IIHF Under-18 World Championships, he finished second in the United States with 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in 6 games. Stella Meyer (6-foot-3, 212 pounds), a right-handed center and soon-to-be freshman at the University of Wisconsin, scored 22 points in his last 26 games for the U.S. Under-18s (10 goals, 12 assists) season. Faber is the captain.He was traded to the wild for forward by the Los Angeles Kings with the 19th overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft Kevin Fiala June 29.
Video: Jon Paul Morosi and the WJC Team USA staff
Sweden
coach: Thomas Mount
2023 NHL Draft to watch: Mans Forsfjall, D, Skelleftea (Sweden)
schedule: Aug. 10, Switzerland (2pm ET); Aug. 12, Austria (2pm ET); Aug. 14, US (10pm ET); Aug. 15, Germany (Eastern) time 10pm)
Appearance: Sweden won’t have forwards Alexander Holtz (Devils) or William Eklund (San Jose Sharks) to lead the offense, but with Jesper Wallstedt (Wild), Karle Kron (San Jose Sharks) to lead the offense Pittsburgh Penguins) and Carl Lindboom (Las Vegas Golden Knights) held steady on goals, along with Simon Edvinson (Detroit Red Wings), Helge Glance (Kings) and William · Wallinde (Red Wings) as a defensive player together. On offense, Monten will focus on Daniel Ljungman (Dallas Stars), Theodor Niederbach (Red Wings), Oskar Olausson (Colorado Avalanche) and Jonathan Lekkerimaki (Vancouver Canucks). Wallstedt will play for Iowa State in the American Hockey League this season and last season in the Swedish Hockey League for Lulea with a 12-10-0 average of 1.98 goals and 0.918. The 19-year-old went 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and a .962 save percentage in the 2022 WJC in December before the game was postponed.
Germany
coach: Tobias Abstreet
2023 NHL Draft to watch: not any
Schedule: Aug. 9, US (10pm ET); Aug. 10, Austria (10pm ET); Aug. 13, Switzerland (10pm ET); Aug. 15, Sweden (10 PM ET)
Appearance: Without forwards Tim Stutzl (Senators), JJ Peterka (Buffalo Sabres) and Lucas Rachel (Blackhawks), Germany will have a hard time in the 2021 WJC Finished sixth. Defender Luca Munzenberger, who is averaging 21:41 in five games at the WJC in 2021, will be very reliable. The 19-year-old was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the third round (90th overall) of the 2021 draft and will be a sophomore at the University of Vermont this season. Goalie Florian Bugl (2023 draft-eligible) helped Germany win over Slovakia and Switzerland at the 2021 WJC and finished with a 2.95 GAA and 0.896 save percentage in three games, he is returning but will be pushed to the start by Nikita Location Quapp (Carolina Hurricane).
Switzerland
coach: Marco Bayer
2023 NHL Draft to watch: Rodwin Dionicio, D, Niagara (OHL)
schedule: Aug. 10, Sweden (2pm ET); Aug. 11, US (10pm ET); Aug. 13, Germany (10pm ET); Aug. 15, Austria (ET) time 2 pm)
Appearance: Switzerland will rely on St. John’s goalies Noah Patenaude (7-2-2, 2.96 GAA, 0.914 save percentage) and Kevin Pasche (20-19-4, 2.87 GAA, 0.903 save percentage) in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Omaha in the U.S. Stay competitive in the hockey league. Striker Simon Knack (Nashville Predators) returns to the world youth team for the third time after taking the ninth place in 2021 as Switzerland’s captain. Defenseman Brian Zanetti (Philadelphia Flyers) had 26 points (4 goals, 22 assists) in 56 games for Peterborough, Ont., in the hockey league last season. Dionho (6-2, 207) had 31 points (6 goals, 25 assists) in 57 games for the Niagara in his North American debut last season and was on the NHL Central Scout’s 2023 draft roster .
Austria
coach: Philip Pinter
2023 NHL Draft to watch: not any
schedule: Aug 10, Germany (10 PM ET); Aug 12, Sweden (2 PM ET); Aug 13, USA (2 PM ET); Aug 15, Switzerland (ET) time 2 pm)
Appearance: Austria finished 10th in 2021 and are back looking for their first win in their fifth entry to the tournament (0-17), but it wasn’t easy in the heats. It will be without the No. 8 pick in the 2022 draft, Marco Kasper (Red Wings). Striker Senna Pieters, who scored Austria’s only goal and will be in his third WJC, will be counted on to provide some attack. The 20-year-old scored 17 points (5 goals, 12 assists) in 34 games last season for Halifax in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Kasper, who signed a three-year entry-level contract with Detroit on July 13, has decided to withdraw from Hockey in August due to a heavy workload at the international level, as well as his stint with Rogle BK in the Swedish Hockey League last season. Take a break.
