TORONTO—Right off the bat in the pre-tournament, North America established itself as the team to watch at the World Cup of Hockey. And it’s not because of their eye-catching black and grey with bright orange trim jerseys.
They play hockey the way it should be played—with speed, skill, and confidence. The group of 23-and-under players, made up of 13 Americans and 10 Canadians led the pre-tournament with 13 goals in three games and Matt Murray posted the pre-tournament’s only shutout.
It’s about what you'd expect from a team with five first-overall draft picks—one more than Canada—and 16 first-round picks on its roster.
Watching North America develop while giving fans a taste of its tremendous potential has been the most exciting part of the World Cup so far. Their journey has become can’t-miss hockey.
Coming Together
Players have repeatedly said that it’s a lot of fun playing together and the team has come together to form a close-knit group.
At the first team dinner in Montreal, head coach Todd McLellan recounted how, initially, there were some lines between the players—Americans and Canadians, junior and college, club affiliations, etc. The North American team didn’t do any team-building exercises, but instead, the players became a team on their own.
