Team USA is in a transition period right now, much like Finland. They do have some established NHL talent, including Joe Pavelski and Max Pacioretty but a lot of their most exciting players are too young for this team, like Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, and Alex Galchenyuk, among others, while the management staff decided to leave one of its best goal-scorers, Phil Kessel, off the final squad.
This team should be in contention for a medal, like they always are, but are in tough when you compare them to teams like Canada, Sweden and Finland. However, this is the team that has beaten Canada or come close in best-on-best tournaments like the Olympics and famously won the first World Cup in 1996 which was until this point, maybe the golden age of USA Hockey.
They have depth in goal, but may need to make a change depending on the health of Ben Bishop who left the Eastern Conference final with a knee injury that ended his season.
| Player | Position | Current Team |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Bishop | G | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Jonathan Quick | G | Los Angeles Kings |
| Cory Schneider | G | New Jersey Devils |
| Dustin Byfuglien | D | Winnipeg Jets |
| John Carlson | D | Washington Capitals |
| Ryan McDonagh | D | New York Rangers |
| Ryan Suter | D | Minnesota Wild |
| Erik Johnson | D | Colorado Avalanche |
| Jack Johnson | D | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Matt Niskanen | D | Washington Capitals |
| Justin Abdelkader | F | Detroit Red Wings |
| Patrick Kane | F | Chicago Blackhawks |
| Ryan Kesler | F | Anaheim Ducks |
| T.J. Oshie | F | Washington Capitals |
| Max Pacioretty | F | Montreal Canadiens |
| Zach Parise | F | Minnesota Wild |
| Joe Pavelski | F | San Jose Sharks |
| Derek Stepan | F | New York Rangers |
| Blake Wheeler | F | Winnipeg Jets |
| David Backes | F | St. Louis Blues |
| James van Riemsdyk | F | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Ryan Callahan | F | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Brandon Dubinsky | F | Columbus Blue Jackets |
