The United States followed up a bronze medal in 2018 with a first-round playoff loss to Russia in the 2019 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship. Now, the Americans enter the 2021 tournament with an overhauled roster that carries just one player from the 2019 team. Since 1960, the United States hasn’t finished better than bronze at the World Championship, despite boasting an NHL-heavy lineup. They won the gold that year.
Entering as the sixth team in the power rankings, expectations aren’t high for the Americans, though they should be a shoe for the playoffs. Once there, anything can happen, and maybe the United States can find some magic or a miracle.
Tournament Details
| Dates | Friday, May 21 - Sunday, June 6, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Location | Riga, Latvia |
| Venue | Olympic Sports Centre and Arena Riga |
| Channel | NHL Network (USA), TSN (Canada) |
| Live Stream | PremiumTV (Worldwide) |
Preview
The United States fell to Finland in their World Championship opener 2-1. They followed that up with a 5-1 victory over Canada, giving their northern neighbor their worst start at the Worlds or Olympics ever at 2-0. The win keeps the Americans in a decent spot to contend for the playoffs yet in a Group B that is log-jammed in the middle with mediocre teams. If the United States can win a few games and separate from the pack, that’s great. It’s just as likely, however, that they end up needing a tie-breaker or two to work their way to the quarterfinals.
2021 United States IIHF World Championship Roster
| Number | Name | Position | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Ryan Shea | Defenseman | Texas Stars |
| 3 | Matt Roy | Defenseman | Los Angeles Kings |
| 4 | Connor Mackey | Defenseman | Calgary Flames |
| 5 | Adam Clendening | Defenseman | Cleveland Monsters |
| 6 | Chris Wideman | Defenseman | Torpedo Nizhni Novgorod |
| 8 | Matt Tennyson | Defenseman | New Jersey Devils |
| 10 | Matty Beniers | Forward | University of Michigan |
| 11 | Brian Boyle | Forward | Florida Panthers |
| 12 | Trevor Moore | Forward | Los Angeles Kings |
| 16 | Ryan Donato | Forward | San Jose Sharks |
| 18 | Jack Drury | Forward | Vaxjo Lakers |
| 19 | Jason Robertson | Forward | Dallas Stars |
| 21 | Kevin Rooney | Forward | New York Rangers |
| 24 | Sasha Chimelevski | Forward | San Jose Sharks |
| 29 | Jake Oettinger | Goalkeeper | Dallas Stars |
| 31 | Anthony Stolarz | Goalkeeper | Anaheim Ducks |
| 39 | Zac Jones | Defenseman | New York Rangers |
| 40 | Cal Petersen | Goalkeeper | Los Angeles Kings |
| 43 | Colin Blackwell | Forward | New York Rangers |
| 50 | Eric Robinson | Forward | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| 55 | Matt Hellickson | Defenseman | Binghamton Devils |
| 62 | Kevin Lablanc | Forward | San Jose Sharks |
| 72 | Tage Thompson | Forward | Buffalo Sabres |
| 83 | Conor Garland | Forward | Arizona Coyotes |
| 86 | Christian Wolanin | Defenseman | Los Angeles Kings |
| 89 | Justin Abdelkader | Forward | EV Zug |
United States Prelims Schedule
The United States is competing in Group B and will play each other team in the group in the preliminary round. All Group B games are played at the Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia.
| Date | Time | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, May 22, 2021 | 9:15am EST | Finland |
| Sunday, May 23, 2021 | 1:15pm EST | Canada |
| Tuesday, May 25, 2021 | 9:15am EST | Kazakhstan |
| Thursday, May 27, 2021 | 9:15am EST | Latvia |
| Saturday, May 29, 2021 | 9:15am EST | Norway |
| Monday, May 31, 2021 | 9:15am EST | Germany |
| Tuesday, June 1, 2021 | 9:15am EST | Italy |
