Unlike other national teams like Canada or Russia, Team USA decided to play in only one international tournament before assembling the roster for the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea. The Deutschland Cup, scheduled for November 10-12 in Augsburg, Germany, will most likely be some sort of try-out for players skating in European leagues to show their worth in front of the coaching staff.
The roster was announced yesterday, and it includes 29 players, 27 of whom play in the top European leagues. The roster will be completed by Brian Gionta, currently a UFA, and Ryan Malone, who is now on a try-out with the Iowa Wild of the AHL.
21 players on the roster have NHL experience. Team USA will skate against host Germany, Russia B, and Slovakia national teams.
“American hockey should be real proud of how deep we are,” U.S. head coach Tony Granato said at the U.S. Olympic Committee Media Summit, as reported by USA Today. “(Looking at) our players that are playing in Europe professionally — we have an extremely skilled base of players over there to select from.”
Team USA's @usahockey roster for the Deutschland Cup. pic.twitter.com/e0F5oXlBK5
— Kevin Allen (@ByKevinAllen) October 18, 2017
Granato confirmed that the tournament will be very helpful in determining at least a part of the roster. “We’ll get a pretty good idea at that tournament on what we have,” Granato said. “From that tournament, we’ll probably have a pretty good chunk of our team that will be with us from that day moving forward. We’ll fill in with our college players and players from the minors.”
NCAA stars Troy Terry (Denver), Ryan Donato (Harvard) and Jordan Greenway (Boston University) are most likely the top college candidates. Greenway already skated with Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Championship.
The Tournament
Team USA will start the tournament against Team Slovakia on Friday, Nov. 10. The next day the opponent will be Team Russia B, while the host, Team Germany, will face the US on Sunday, Nov. 12.
This is how the roster will look like:
Goalies
Ryan Zapolski, Jokerit Helsinki (KHL)
Brandon Maxwell, BK Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic)
David Leggio, EHC Munchen (DEL)
Defensemen
Mike Lundin, Jokerit Helsinki (KHL)
Dylan Reese, HV71 (SHL)
Mark Stuart, Adler Mannheim (DEL)
Matt Donovan, Frolunda HC (SHL)
Jonathon Blum, Admiral Vladivostok (KHL)
Matt Gilroy, Jokerit Helsinki (KHL)
Noah Welch, Vaxjo Lakers (SHL)
Ryan Gunderson, Brynas IF (SHL)
Tom Gilbert, Nurnberg Ice Tigers (DEL)
Bobby Sanguinetti, HC Lugano (NL)
Chad Billins, Linkoping HC (SHL)
Forwards
Garrett Roe, EV Zug (NL)
Robbie Earl, EHC Biel (NL)
Ryan Lasch, Frolunda HC (SHL)
Ryan Malone, Iowa Wings (AHL)
Drew Shore, ZSC Lions (NL)
Sean Backman, Eisbaren Berlin (DEL)
Broc Little, HC Davos (NL)
Dan Sexton, Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (KHL)
Jim Slater, HC Fribourg-Gotteron (NL)
Brian Gionta, UFA
Brian O’Neil, Jokerit Helsinki (KHL)
Andy Miele, Malmo Redhawks (SHL)
Chad Kolarik, Adler Mannheim (DEL)
Mark Arcobello, HC Bern (NL)
Ryan Stoa, Spartak Moscow (KHL)
“I’m glad to have been called to the national team, it’s a huge honor to represent my country at the international level,” Ryan Stoa told TASS. “We have many good players and thus we can assemble a good national team. Of course, with this call, I think I have good chances to skate at the Olympics, but the season is long and the most important thing now is to avoid injuries.
We’ll be with the national team for about 10 days, It’s good to have a chance to talk in English for all that time! Russia and Canada have plenty of chances to put together a good roster, while we play in only one tournament. We’ll try to get the best out of this situation.”