The U.S. is Taking an Aggressive Mindset into World Juniors

In front of the goaltenders, the Americans are going to be a big, mobile group on the blue line. Fortescue and Buium both return after playing key roles in the 2024 gold-medal game, and Team USA also invited 17-year-old Blake Fiddler to camp, who captained the Under-18 team in August at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Similar to the way Carle’s team plays at Denver, the American defenders are going to have the green light to be aggressive and join the play, which was a point of excitement, especially for the forwards who will have added layers on the rush.

Lines and pairings will be toyed with, but it seems highly likely that one line is already set up front with Leonard, Perrault and James Hagens. Leonard and Perrault played together with Will Smith for two years during their time with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, and then last season at Boston College. This season, with Smith now in the NHL, Hagenshas jumped into his spot. The potential top pick in the 2025 NHL Draft has pretty seamlessly joined a line Carle will likely use for Team USA.

“He’s got such great vision, you can see what everyone talks about, how he’s going to be [a] No. 1 center in the NHL someday,” Perrault said of Hagens. “He joined our line this season, and it’s really gone together really well.”

For Perrault and Leonard, it’s a tournament they’ll savor, because eventually, like Smith, they’ll be in the NHL soon.

“We’ve gone through a lot together, and that’s something you’ll think about at this tournament,” Leonard said.