Team U.S.A. opened training camp for the IIHF World Junior Championship on Tuesday. Coach Ron Wilson held a high energy practice at Agganis Arena in Boston, with the goal of building team chemistry.
"After one practice I was amazed at how compatible everyone was together," Wilson told USA Hockey. Training camp started on Tuesday and will be capped off with an exhibition game on Dec. 18 against the University of Massachusetts.
Team U.S.A. finished fifth at the 2015 tournament in Toronto-Montreal, and 18-year-old Auston Matthews is returning for his second World Junior tournament and wants to improve on a fifth place finish last year. "I think last year was a little bit disappointing personally for myself and for the whole team," he said.
Matthews is second in team-scoring playing with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss A league with 25 points in 22 games. Matthews took a nontraditional route to hockey, growing up in Arizona, and forgoing college and junior hockey for a chance to play pro in Switzerland under former NHL coach Marc Crawford.
Playing professionally helped Matthews develop into what Central Scouting considers an A-rated player. Wilson expects Matthews to live up to the rating.
"He's rated very high and he definitely is as advertised," Wilson said on Tuesday. "But we have to make sure we give him a couple of line mates, and I'm sure we will, that will put him up at the top. We're going to have to lean heavily on Auston to be successful."
Joining Matthews on the wing is team U.S.A. newbie Matthew Tkachuk. A good passer with goal scoring ability (14 goals, 45 assists in 59 games with London OHL), Tkachuk is hoping to draw from Matthews' experience representing USA at the 2015 World Juniors.
"I've been kind of peppering his brain a little bit," said Tkachuk. "... I ask him all the little stuff, like what to expect in practice, what he thinks the coaches will bring, just how hard it is if you make the team, the competition."
Tkachuk will complement Matthews and right winger Alex DeBrincat (33 goals in 30 games with Erie OHL) on the top line. Both Tkachuk and DeBrincat are draft eligible for 2016 and carry A ratings from Central Scouting.
In addition to a dangerous scoring line, the American roster will have six players with World Junior experience, most notably, 2015 draft picks forward Sonny Milano (Columbus) and defenseman Brendan Carlo (Boston).
Even with a considerable support and experience, Matthews is ready to lead by example when the tournament starts on Dec. 26 in Helsinki, Finland. "I'm willing to take on whatever role is deemed necessary to help the United States and my teammates succeed," he said.
