United States built for success at World Juniors, GM Vanbiesbrouck says
Former NHL goalie discusses Mberko, Hughes in Q&A with NHL.com ahead of Dec. 26 opener
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The former NHL goalie is general manager of the United States for the annual tournament for the best players under-20 in the world for a fifth straight year. Under his watch, the United States has won a gold medal (2021), a silver (2019), and finished fifth (2022) and sixth (2020).
This year's tournament will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Moncton, New Brunswick, from Dec. 26-Jan. 5. The United States will participate in Group B with Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia and Latvia at Avenir Centre in Moncton. Group A consists of defending champion Canada, along with Sweden, Czechia, Germany and Austria at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
The United States opens against Latvia at 4 p.m. ET on Dec. 26. All games will be broadcast by NHL Network in the United States and TSN in Canada.
"The reason this tournament is so fun is it's played at such a high pace, and you always wonder about your sticks and how you're going to score," Vanbiesbrouck said. "The two biggest worries are scoring and keeping the puck out of your net, but I think we're very equipped. I think we're going be very prepared. I've loved our coaches through the five years I've done this. Even though there's a lot of similarities, there's great differences in each coach and staff.
"That's probably what excites me the most about this group. The way we're being prepared in its unique way that is the USA Hockey brand where we are going to go after teams, chase them down, hunt pucks and be fun to watch."
Vanbiesbrouck discussed his decision to have Quinnipiac University coach Rand Pecknold lead the team this year, his assessment of the team and more in a Q&A with NHL.com:
Why was Pecknold the best man for the job as coach this season?
"Rand's a winner. I think you see that in the job he's done at Quinnipiac, but I also think he deserves it. He's wanted to do it. He's willing to do it. I think it's a great honor for him. I talked to him years ago about it, about doing this and I think that (late USA Hockey executive) Jim Johannson was going down a road with him. I wanted to fulfill what JJ wanted to see happen, too."
From your perspective as GM, how difficult is it to win this tournament?
"The real tough learnings are when you lose. I mean, failure has a way of educating you to the point where you're not satisfied, you're disappointed, but what you need to do better and are willing to work at the next time. So my head is on the fact we're not going to be outworked from our management standpoint, our needs standpoint, or coaching standpoint. Those are the things that I can control."
Goalie Kaidan Mbereko played well for the U.S. in the preliminary stage of the 2022 WJC but lost 4-2 against Czechia in the quarterfinal round -- a defeat for which he took the blame. Is Mbereko ready to take that next step?
"Kaidan has had some ups and downs, and he's risen above it. I think he's been able to now shelf a lot of things. Goalies are very analytical, so they have a way of holding on to things for a long period of time, speaking from experience. I called him when things were kind of going a little sideways and said, 'Kaidan, you are forgiven. Let it go.' There's no point. Just because I said it doesn't mean it won't be there, but it doesn't matter anymore as much as you make it matter to yourself. For us, we've forgotten it and it's time to move on and park it. That's part of a process as a goalie ... you really got to park and move. As far as his game is, he's as good as we have and it's at the top level and he's given Colorado College a chance to win when he plays. I think the Tigers play in a really tough division, which is great for him as a goalie. He's going to only see that as he gets into tougher situations; seeing lots of shots, and having a high save percentage, things like that are very meaningful. But he's got to complete some tasks now and he's going to get an opportunity to do that."
Does U.S. captain Luke Hughes have the look of an NHL defenseman to you?
"Absolutely. I've seen Luke for a long time now. Being the third brother (behind Quinn and Jack) from a very successful family is very difficult. But I also think he's engaging it as an individual, which I really appreciate because people want to compare. The first thing I hear when comparing brothers is that Luke is taller, but I don't think that's a fair compliment. I think that it's a little myopic in my view that people don't see him as an individual, how good he is as an individual, and what he's doing, his maturity level, the comments that he makes on college hockey and how it's helped him and it's one step from the pro level and you're playing against men every week. As soon as you're picked at a high level in the first round (New Jersey Devils, No. 4 in 2021), other than the press and the media, nobody cares that you're a first-round pick. They just want to know if you can play and I think that when it comes to his play, he's a superstar."
It's apparent you sought to add strength to this lineup with the addition of, among others, forward Tyler Boucher. How important is it to have those type of power forwards in this tournament?
"It's another unique quality. We like Tyler a lot. He's been riddled by penalties this year, which is something we've had to look at. In this tournament, offensive zone penalties, some that get you suspended ... that's a roster spot. In season you can overcome that with bodies, but we can't internally. That's a replacement that we can't afford so we'll have to play short if he was just suspended and not injured. So that becomes a whole different playout in a tournament, but Tyler's showing that he's very smart. He has a great attitude right now. He wants to contribute, and I know everybody talks about winning but I think the first thing we got to talk about is contributing."
Is Canada forward Connor Bedard a generational talent?
"For sure, and that's one player we don't like to see as a generational, because he's not on our side. But you got to love watching Connor Bedard play. I mean, you totally respect it. We have so much respect for the Canadian team and their talent level. We love it, we engage in it, it makes us better. We respect their talent, but no doubt Connor is a generational talent that's going to be fun to watch in the National Hockey League. We just don't want to watch too many highlights of him in the coming weeks."
Complete this sentence. The United States will win gold if … ?
"We play together."
