PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- The United States won't pick its team for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship until December, but coach David Carle already knows goaltending will be a strength.
Two of the five goalies who began the World Junior Summer Showcase at USA Hockey Arena here July 26 -- Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) and Sam Hillebrandt (2025 draft eligible) -- were part of the team that won the gold medal at the 2024 WJC, and two -- Augustine and Hampton Slukynsky (Los Angeles Kings) -- attended the WJSS last summer.
"I think we're obviously blessed with good depth," Carle said Thursday. "Starts at the top with Trey. I think that's a little bit different than a year ago, there was a bit of a battle there. Not to say that there won't be this year, but Trey looked very good in his time here. And then we've got these guys who are still here, and they've all played well in their moments and I'm sure the battle and the competition will go through the fall here into the college and junior seasons."
Augustine, 19, went 4-0-0 with a 1.75 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in four games at the 2024 WJC and was one of seven returning players sent home early from the WJSS to allow the coaches to see more players.
He hasn't been designated the starter, but with a gold and a bronze medal (2023) at the World Juniors, a gold medal at the 2023 IIHF Under-18 World Championship and experience playing at the 2024 IIHF World Championship, it's expected Augustine will get the bulk of the starts when the tournament is held in Ottawa from Dec. 26-Jan. 5.
"When you think about Trey and his game, I don't know if I've ever been around a smarter goalie than him in terms of how he reads things," U.S. goaltending coach David Lassonde said. "But also in terms of, ‘OK, these are the little things that I might not necessarily do great right now that I need to work on,’ he recognizes that, he acts on it.
"Then when you think about it, this is going to be his third consecutive World Junior experience. He played on our men's Worlds team. He's won two gold medals in IIHF competition. He was a national champion at (the youth program) HoneyBaked as a U-15. He just knows how to win. And I think there's something to say for that in terms of what he brings to the table. And then for him, there's a level of maturity that is beyond his years."
Hillebrandt, 19, was the third goalie on the 2024 team and never got into a game. He was 16-15-2 with a 3.67 GAA and .899 save percentage in 36 games with Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League last season.
He's hoping for a bigger role at the 2025 WJC and has extra motivation from being passed over in the 2024 NHL Draft.
"Absolutely," Hillebrandt said. "Obviously everybody wants to be drafted, but unfortunately it didn't happen to me. So every day I'm in the gym and on the ice, I just always have that thing in the back of my mind that I want to prove everybody wrong, why I should have been taken the draft."
Lassonde sees confidence as the biggest area of improvement in Hillebrandt's game.
"I think any time you talk about the growth of a goalie, confidence has a big part of it," Lassonde said. "And I think what we've seen in Sammy is, I firmly believe down deep he feels like he belongs. Obviously making our team last year and his ability to come back again this summer, I think he brought a lot of confidence into his summer based on the way he played in that OHL [playoff] series against Oshawa, where his team lost 4-2, but in two of those games he was named a star of the game, performed very, very well.
"For him in terms of the growth of his game, I see it more just in a confidence standpoint."
Slukynsky, 19, was in the running with Hillebrandt for a tournament roster spot last year, but USA Hockey decided it was better for him to stay with Fargo of the United States Hockey League and play in the 2024 World Junior A Challenge, where he had a 3.00 GAA and .872 save percentage in five games to help the U.S. win the bronze medal.
It was a similar path to the one USA Hockey took with Montreal Canadiens goalie prospect Jacob Fowler, who went from playing in the 2023 World Junior A Challenge to being Augustine's backup at the 2024 WJC.
"One of the things that gives Hampton a chance is he's driven," Lassonde said. "He's coachable, he's athletic, he's quick. I just think that he has a great mindset about it."
Slukynsky said he feels more comfortable at the WJSS this year after his experiences last season.
"Last year when I came here, I was coming basically straight out of high school to here, which is a massive jump," he said. "It was a big eye-opener for me. ... Being here this year, I'm so much more confident, knowing almost everyone here, having played with or against them. Just a lot more confident and obviously a lot more used to the skill level."
The other two U.S. goalies here -- Nicholas Kempf (Washington Capitals), 18, and Carsen Musser (Utah Hockey Club), 19 -- are new to the World Junior level of play, but each faced tougher, older competition last season -- Kempf with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team, and Musser with Madison of the USHL after playing for the NTDP U-18 team in 2022-23.
"Playing in the USHL definitely helps with that scenario," Lassonde said. "I think that they've done a really good job of dealing with the little bit faster pace of the game, not only the physical part of it but the mental part of it as well."
The four remaining goalies will have the rest of the WJSS, including games against Sweden on Friday and Canada on Saturday, plus practices, to make their case to play in the tournament. Then each will be watched closely once his season starts in the fall.
The chance to play a large role in the World Juniors is beginning to set in for them.
"I watched it a ton growing up," said Kempf, who will play at Notre Dame this season. "I never really thought how close I could be and I'm kind of just starting to realize that now. The work starts now to try to make that team."
