GAME DAY | The USA takes on Germany in the World Juniors Opener today

Team USA gathered in Plymouth, Michigan to begin the World Juniors journey at the USA Hockey Arena on December 15th. The USA traveled to Kingston, Ontario, on December 18 and continued its preparation there, which included a pre-tournament match against Slovakia on December 21 (6-2 win). Team USA moved to Cornwall, Ontario for a brief stop where it faced Finland in its second tune-up contest (5-2 win) before arriving here in Ottawa at 21.00 on 23 December.

David Carle (Anchorage, Alaska) is back to guide the U.S. Junior National Team after leading it to gold at last year’s tournament and says preparations have been going well.

“We have a good group,” said Carle, who is also the head coach at the University of Denver, where he has guided the Pioneers to a pair of NCAA Division I national titles (2022, 2024) in his first six seasons. “As a staff, we’ve liked the progress our team has made through our camp and two pre-tournament games, and we’ll look to continue to build on that as we start the tournament.”

USA and Germany square off today for the 15th time ever at the World Juniors, and Team USA has won all but one of the first 14 meetings. The teams last met in the quarterfinals of the 2023 tournament, with the United States taking an 11-1 victory.

Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass./Boston College) serves as the captain for Team USA, while forwards Oliver Moore (Mounds View, Minn./University of Minnesota), Danny Nelson (Maple Grove, Minn./University of Minnesota) and Gabe Perreault (Hinsdale, Ill./Boston College), and defenseman Zeev Buium (San Diego, Calif./University of Denver) are alternate captains.

The U.S. roster includes 10 players who were part of the U.S. Junior National Team a year ago and 22 NHL draft picks, including 14 first- and second-round selections.