The defending World Junior Hockey Championship gold medalists will have some new recruits in tow when they look to capture their second-straight title.
Team USA topped the rival Canadians in a shootout in last year's gold medal game, marking the second gold for the Americans since 2013 and its third top-three finish in the past five tournaments.
While last year's squad was led by the likes of Clayton Keller, Colin White, and Jordan Greenway, there will be some new faces leading the charge this winter. Here are three players sure to catch your eye when the puck drops Dec. 26:
Quinn Hughes
A projected top pick in this summer's draft, Hughes is as an offensive-minded blue-liner who provides exceptional skill from the back end.
Though diminutive, Hughes is gifted with exceptional vision that allows him to quarterback plays from the point. His on-ice awareness helps him make perfect passes and lead the puck up the ice, a skill set that will come in handy over the tournament given the bevy of scoring threats Team USA boasts in its forward ranks.
The Orlando, Fla. native finished tied for first in scoring with the national under-18 team in 2016-17, as he netted four goals and 22 assists in 26 contests. He's taken that talent to the University of Michigan this year.
Casey Mittelstadt
There's light at the end of the tunnel for fans of the lowly Buffalo Sabres. Just watch Mittelstadt. The University of Minnesota product owns elite puck skills and is an even better skater.
A forward who provides size and skill up the middle, Mittelstadt will be relied upon as a key offensive contributor for the American squad. His outstanding playmaking skills should be an ideal fit for the handful of American skaters who can pull the trigger.
Heading into the world juniors, Mittelstadt has all the credentials, from his nine-point showing with Team USA at the under-18s to taking home MVP honors at the USA Hockey All American Top Prospects Game during his draft year.
Brady Tkachuk
A chip off of the old block, Tkachuk is a classic bloodline player who boasts a similar power forward playing style to his brother, Calgary Flames forward Matthew, and his legendary father, 18-year NHLer Keith.
Brady plays a powerful, gritty game that will give the Americans a different flavor in all areas of the ice. Still, don't confuse his physicality with a lack of scoring skill. His nose for the net makes him a consistent scoring threat.
A top talent with Boston University this season, he's continued to grow his game after finishing among the top scorers with the national under-18 team a year ago.
Midway through the second period, Orlov entered the Dallas Stars end and put the puck between his legs before firing a shot over the glove of goaltender Ben Bishop.
It was an incredible effort, but teammate John Carlson took exception after the Capitals' PR team failed to give the goal the praise he felt it deserved.
The goaltending duties have been pretty evenly split between Thomas Greiss and Jaroslav Halak, with neither able to keep the puck out of the net with any regularity.
Player
Games
Record
Save %
Jaroslav Halak
19
9-8-1
.905
Thomas Greiss
18
9-5-2
.883
Greiss was in net against Detroit, and allowed five goals on 21 shots for a single-game save percentage of .762.
Conversely, the Islanders are excelling at the other end of the ice, ranking second with 121 goals.
The NHL's holiday trade freeze goes into effect Tuesday at 11:59 p.m., but this might be an area general manager Garth Snow targets early in 2018.
His inclusion comes after a whirlwind couple of days where, after Boeser blocked a shot against the Calgary Flames on Sunday night, it looked as though the 20-year-old could be out long term.
However, news broke Monday that Boeser had not suffered a fracture, but a bone bruise, and would be day to day rather than week to week with the injury.
Boeser would miss no time, which is great news for the Canucks as he currently leads the team with 17 goals and 30 points.
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford put in a busy day before the NHL's roster freeze comes into effect, manufacturing a pair of trades.
The more notable of the two deals is the acquisition of defenseman Jamie Oleksiak for the Dallas Stars in exchange for a conditional 2019 fourth-round pick. Oleksiak's played 21 games this season, averaging 15 minutes per night while contributing one goal and two assists.
Because Pittsburgh owns two fourth-rounders in 2019, the Stars will take the earlier of the two picks.
In their other move, the Pens nabbed goaltender Michael Leighton and a 2019 fourth-round pick for forward Josh Archibald, netminder Sean Maguire, and a sixth-round pick the same year.
Leighton, 36, has played seven games in the NHL since taking the Philadelphia Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010.
Last week, the Islanders proposed their plan of an 18,000-seat arena that would host up to 200 events per year, as well as 435,000-square for retail, a hotel with 200-to-250 rooms and an "innovation center."
The Islanders moved to the Barclay's Center, located in Brooklyn, following the 2015 season. Since the move, the basketball-designed arena has faced several complaints for insufficient sight lines and poor ice conditions.
The arena at Belmont Park would be much closer to the club's original home in Nassau County, and offers some much-needed security for the Islanders, although any potential timeline for development on the new facility has yet to be announced.
Over the course of the 2017-18 season, theScore will run a series of interviews with former players in which they recall some of the greatest moments of their careers. This edition focuses on Hall of Famer Cam Neely, who galvanized his place as one of the game's premier power forwards with 395 goals and 1,241 penalty minutes in just 726 career games:
On being a part of the Memorial Cup-winning Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League as a 17-year-old in 1983:
To be honest with you, I didn't know much about the Western Hockey League. I was just playing to have fun, and all of a sudden I was getting invites to Western Hockey League camps.
I ended up playing a midget tournament in Portland over the Christmas break (as a 16-year-old) and one of their scouts invited myself and a defenseman on our team to go practice with the Winter Hawks. I said, "I don't think I can do that, I believe I'm property of the Victoria Cougars," and he said, "No, no, they took you off their list." I had no idea. (laughs)
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
So I went and practiced with the team that following September, got an invitation to training camp and made the team. And I don't even really recall knowing that that season would have been my NHL draft year.
It was a close group of guys, even though the age limits made it so that there was a decent gap between the oldest and the youngest. A lot of us were probably living in the States for the first time in our lives, so that was something that wasn't common for us.
On his first NHL goal:
I was on a line with Darcy Rota and Thomas Gradin at the time. We're breaking out of our end, and I ended up on the left-hand side. So I crossed through the neutral zone, and took a pass on my backhand as I was coming into the offensive zone. I quickly moved it to my forehand and shot it top shelf and scored.
Doing it at home, with some of my family there ... it was a really cool moment.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
On his most memorable interaction with an official:
Well, Paul Stewart ... for whatever reason, whenever he reffed in Boston, I knew that I was getting a penalty. Regardless of whether I deserved it or not, I was getting a penalty.
I would always give him shit about it, because he's from Boston ... I would get into it with him on the fact that, for whatever reason, he had to single me out and put me in the penalty box in Boston.
On who he considers the most underrated player of his era:
Dave Poulin ... even though he was recognized as being this great defensive forward, I don't think that people recognized the details in his game.
He was in the right place at the right time. He didn't look like he was doing a whole hell of a lot, but he was doing it smart. I didn't play with him a ton, but you could really see the hockey sense he had. And I think his hockey sense was his skill set.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
On honing one of the most lethal shots of his generation:
Certainly natural ability was a big part of it. But as I matured as a player and understood goaltenders more, I realized the tendencies of some goalies and instinctively knew where to put it and give myself the best chance to score without really having to take the extra second or half-second and see if something was available.
So it was more natural ability, but also some thought about the goaltenders that I'm facing and what their tendencies are, and where is the best opportunity to score from is on that particular goalie.
There was certainly no video like there is, no scouting reports on individual goalies. It was just playing against them over time, and where I want to be, and where I want the puck to shoot, and finding those soft open areas and getting it away as quick as possible.
On being a strong defensive forward in addition to an elite goal-scorer:
When you break in as an 18-year-old as I did, in those first few years, it's certainly brought to your attention by your coaching staff that you have to be more than a one-dimensional player. And you have to make smart decisions with the puck instead of just throwing it away blindly. You have to make sure your'e good along both blue lines, and at getting it in and getting it out
One of the problems in my third year was, the coach at the time (Vancouver's Tom Watt) didn't really have a lot of trust in me in that part of the game, and it was something that I really wanted to work on as my career went on.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
On playing alongside fellow Hall of Famer Ray Bourque:
Ray was a family man first and foremost. He had his kids around a lot, especially on weekends. Off the ice he was a devoted father and husband.
From a leadership perspective, when your best player is one of your hardest workers, you should sit up, take notice, and follow. His leadership qualities, to me, weren't so much about what he said or how he said things, but rather leading by example. And it was a prime example.
When he did speak, there was a purpose and a reason behind it. It wasn't often, but when he did, you sat and listened.
On playing in two Stanley Cup finals with Boston early in his career:
On the first team, we learned a lot going into the finals. For a lot of us, it was our first time there, and I think we were just, "Oh my God, we're in the Stanley Cup finals," and just happy to get there.
Beating Montreal for the first time in 45 years, it was such a big deal ... that was such a major accomplishment for the city of Boston and for our fan base, because of so many frustrating years against Montreal in the playoffs, that once we did get to the finals, we weren't really prepared. Maybe we were more excited.
So we learned off that. The second time around, many of the same teammates - now instead of just being happy to be there - were more like, "Here's an opportunity; we may not get another one."
On when he started to think about life after hockey:
At 26, I went in for what I thought was just gonna be a routine knee scope, maybe clean up some meniscus. And when I came out of surgery, the doctor said, "You're done for the season and I'm concerned about your career."
As you can imagine, that was extremely difficult to take at that age, and not really going into the surgery thinking it could be bad. So it was very shocking to me. And it was then that I said, "OK, at some point this is going to be over, but I don't want it to be over soon."
So I just really focused on getting back to playing, but that was kind of the age were I started thinking about there being life after hockey. And when I did finally have to retire at 31 with the hip injury, that's when reality really set in. I hadn't really said, "OK, I know what I'm going to do when hockey's over." I still really had no clue.
(Photo courtesy: New Line Cinema)
On landing the role of Sea Bass in the 1994 film "Dumb and Dumber":
I met the Farrelly Brothers (who directed the movie) through a mutual friend here in Boston; he grew up with them. They're big New England sports fans.
I remember getting a call from Peter and Bobby saying, "Listen, we're doing this movie, we've got this part, we'd love you to be in it." I said, "Guys, I'm not really an actor." And they said, "No, no, you'll be fine. You can do this."
When we played out in L.A., I met up with them and they gave me the script and said, "OK, just go over some of these lines. You'll be fine." And all of a sudden they got Jim Carrey involved in the movie, and then Jeff Daniels, and I connect up with them again and said, "Are you guys sure you want me in this movie?" (laughs) And they said, "No, this'll be great."
On whether he still gets called Sea Bass:
I do, I do. Yeah. (laughs)
__________
Rapid Fire
The best player he ever played with: Ray Bourque
The best goaltender he ever faced: Grant Fuhr
His favorite head coach at any level: Mike Milbury
His favorite visiting arena: Montreal Forum
__________
Fact Files
Born: June 6, 1965, Comox, British Columbia
Drafted: First round (ninth overall), 1983, Vancouver Canucks
Teams: Vancouver Canucks (1983-86), Boston Bruins (1986-96)
Awards: Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (1993-94), Second-Team All-Star (1987-88, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1993-94), Hockey Hall of Fame (2005)
Canada will head into the 2018 World Junior Hockey Championship with a singular focus: Avenging last year's gold medal defeat.
The team fell to their rivals to the south in a shootout after blowing two two-goal leads, including a 4-2 third-period advantage.
This year - as always - Canada will enter as one of the favorites, but unlike years past, Canada doesn't have a top-10 draft selection on its roster, so the team will need to win by committee.
With that, here are three players worth keeping an eye on because they could play pivotal roles:
Kale Clague
Big things are expected of Clague largely because he's one of seven returning members from last year's team, but also because of his incredible jump in production.
Through 28 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Clague has amassed career highs in goals (10) and points (47), good enough to lead all WHL defenders.
Clague is expected to be on the team's top pairing alongside Nashville Predators first-round pick, and fellow returnee, Dante Fabbro - assuming he's healthy - and man the first power-play unit. Expect a lot of Team Canada's offense to go through Clague.
Tyler Steenbergen
Steenbergen is an example of a player who made it very difficult for Hockey Canada to ignore due to his incredible play this season.
The Swift Current Broncos forward wasn't invited to the summer evaluation camp, but after averaging over two points per game, including 35 goals in 27 games, his production couldn't be overlooked. Dating back to last year, Steenbergen has scored an incredible 86 goals in his last 99 games.
"Everyone talks about his ability to score goals, but what I like most, more than anything is, we challenged him at the beginning of last year to be a 200-foot player and now he's one of our better defensive players, one of our key penalty killers and one of our go-to guys if we have a lead with one minute left and stuff like that," Broncos head coach Manny Viverios said, according to TSN's Mark Masters.
The Arizona Coyotes 2017 fifth-round pick could enter the tournament as Canada's purest goal-scorer, and with the ability to play in all situations, expect to see a lot of Steenbergen.
Boris Katchouk
Similar to Steenbergen, Katchouk will be looked upon to aid the team in the goal-scoring department.
The Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick sits second in goals in the OHL with 27, along with 18 assists in 30 games.
Katchouk should slot in on the second line alongside Robert Thomas and returnee Taylor Raddysh. He'll also feature on the power play, where he showed his effectiveness in a tune-up against Denmark, scoring a goal with the extra skater.
At 6-foot-3, Katchouk stands with Brett Howden as Canada's biggest bodies up front and as such should be expected to be a net-front presence, play on the physical side, and provide offense.
