Team USA has named its final men’s hockey roster for the upcoming Winter Olympics as it looks to win gold for the first time since 1980 in Lake Placid.
The squad is NHL-heavy as USA Hockey looks to lean on its talent to get further than last time out, when it lost to Slovakia in the quarterfinals.
Tage Thompson and Clayton Keller are both in the line-up after last year helping the US win the world hockey championship for the first time since 1933, while Seth Jones is also included after being a key part of the Florida Panthers’ second consecutive Stanley Cup run.
USA Hockey unveiled its roster for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday on the Today show, with a vast majority of it made up of players who took part in the NHL-run 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
In that tournament, the Americans made the final before losing to Canada in overtime. The only ones not back from the 4 Nations are forward Chris Kreider and former New York Rangers teammate Adam Fox, the 2021 Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenseman.
‘It was incredibly difficult for our management group to get to the final roster and that’s a credit to so many in our country, including all those at the grassroots level who help make our sport so strong,’ general manager Bill Guerin said.
Clayton Keller holds up the trophy after helping the US to win the ice hockey world champs
Reigning Stanley Cup champion Seth Jones is also on the United States roster for the Games
‘There’s nothing like the Olympics and I know our players and staff will represent our country well and work hard to achieve our ultimate goal.’
Keller, who is the captain of the Utah Mammoth and tied for their lead in scoring, wore the ‘C’ at worlds. Thompson, who plays for the Buffalo Sabres, was a point-a-game producer.
The U.S. followed Canada’s lead after its northern neighbor also chose a 4 Nations-heavy roster. But while Canada made some changes in net beyond starter Jordan Binnington, the Americans went with the same three goaltenders: Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman.
Left off were Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars, who leads US players in points this season, and a couple other elite goal scorers, Cole Caufield and Alex DeBrincat.
Guerin and his management staff, along with coach Mike Sullivan, prioritized experience and players they knew well. That meant sticking with depth forwards Vincent Trocheck and Brock Nelson over Robertson and others.
Teams are allowed 25 players at the Olympics, up from 23 at the 4 Nations, and can dress 20 skaters – typically 13 forwards and seven defensemen, along with two goalies. The first US game is against Latvia on February 12.
