Hockey Canada and USA Hockey have released preliminary rosters for their upcoming selection camps for the 2024 world juniors.

To break it all down, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler have gone over the notable omissions, the decisions that remain, and made their own picks and projections for the final rosters.

Team Canada

The only name I was expecting to see on Hockey Canada’s selection camp roster that wasn’t there was Owen Pickering. He hasn’t had a great year (really dating back to some struggles in the AHL last spring), but between his length, skating, age, pedigree, leadership qualities, handedness and track record with Hockey Canada, I thought he’d get every opportunity to make the team.

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Naturally, I know some will point to Riley Heidt, who leads the WHL in scoring, but he wasn’t a standout at U18 worlds and I think that lingers for Hockey Canada brass. Centre depth and Heidt’s role as a power play type made it additionally hard for him as well. He’s eligible for next year’s tournament.

With the group they are bringing to camp, the big decisions appear to be at left wing, especially if they don’t get Zach Benson back from the Sabres (he will not be at camp, which speaks to the way the Sabres appear to be leaning at the moment), on the fourth line, and on defense behind locks Denton Mateychuk, Tristan Luneau and Maveric Lamoureux. I like the idea of them bringing London’s dynamic duo on the PK of Easton Cowan and Denver Barkey and slotting them on the wings with Owen Beck (who could play on the other PK unit with Fraser Minten) on the fourth line. The real question is who plays left wing in the top-six. Because you’ve got two 5-foot-9 righties in Matt Savoie and Jordan Dumais there, the length of Conor Geekie and Carson Rehkopf made the most sense to me. And while I took Matthew Wood as my 13th forward to give them another power play option if a scoring line doesn’t click, I could see them taking another energy/speed guy like Paul Ludwinski for that role as well.

I like 19-year-olds Michael Buchinger and Jorian Donovan to round out the left side, and opted for Ty Nelson as the No. 6 D and PP2 QB behind Mateychuk. And while it’s hard to make Team Canada as an 18-year-old D, my seventh spot came down to a pair of them in smooth-skating lefty Tanner Molendyk and well-rounded righty Oliver Bonk. Molendyk should have the edge though, and could even win top-six minutes.

This roster would leave goaltender Samuel St. Hilaire, defensemen Bonk, Jake Furlong, and Noah Warren, and forwards Ludwinski, Owen Allard, and Markus Vidicek as the camp cuts. — Scott Wheeler

3⃣0⃣ players have earned invites to Oakville for selection camp. 🇨🇦

3⃣0⃣ joueurs ont obtenu leur invitation au camp de sélection à Oakville. 🇨🇦

ROSTER:
FORMATION: #WorldJuniors | #MondialJunior

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) December 5, 2023

Canada’s ’04 age group has never been their deepest, and without a ton of NHL options loaned out, as of now anyways, this group is somewhat underwhelming relative to their usual standards. Most of the expected names are at camp. Some scouts would argue for ’05s like Riley Heidt or Bradly Nadeau, but their cuts weren’t shocking. The cut of ’04 Owen Pickering is the most notable as a big, mobile defenseman who has been in two straight summer camps for Canada. The first-round pick by the Penguins has had his play criticized by scouts this season, although I’ve liked him in limited viewings.

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Carson Rehkopf, the second-round pick by Seattle last summer, has quickly gone from a long-shot in the summer to a projected important player for Canada. His skating, skill and finishing ability are all very good and he is a top player in the CHL currently.

Tanner Molendyk got banged up last week but if healthy he looks like a candidate to make this blue line as an ’05 due to his great skating and compete level to go with quality offense. Noah Warren’s stat line may not impress that much, but big, mobile, physical defensemen can play a role, and Canada may be drawn to his unique traits.

Finally, in net, it’s anyone’s guess. I think the USports games in camp and pre-tournament will play a significant role in how the goaltending order shakes out. — Corey Pronman

Team USA

USA Hockey’s selection camp roster didn’t come with any major surprises. It’s always notable when returnees aren’t invited back, especially when you’re a double returnee like Wild first-rounder Charlie Stramel, but health and a slow start made it tough. Sharks prospect Cam Lund was one of the final cuts for last year’s team as well; he plays the game with strength and power that could have fit in on the fourth line, but there are others who are more natural fits for that (including better penalty killers). I felt Canucks prospect Hunter Brzustewicz’s stellar play in Kitchener should have earned him at least a look in camp (one rival OHL coach told me he was “shocked actually” by the omission), but after some conversations in recent weeks with some folks it did feel like that wasn’t going to happen for him.

And frankly, no matter who they brought, this team was likely to be my odds-on favorite to win this year’s tournament.

Up front, the decisions really seem to start on the fourth line. It makes sense to keep the Boston College trio together, and to slot top 2025 prospect James Hagens between old NTDP and world juniors linemates Jimmy Snuggerud and Cutter Gauthier (though I think there’s also a case to be made for Gauthier to play centre if Hagens falters as the 1C). The health of Rutger McGroarty does add a little bit of a wrinkle, too. If he’s not ready to go in time (and it sounds like his participation is more hopeful than likely), I like Isaac Howard, who already has built-in chemistry with Brindley and especially Nazar, to slide into his spot in the roster.

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I cut forwards Quinn Finley and William Whitelaw in favour of the size that Gavin Hayes and Danny Nelson would provide on that fourth line alongside Moore (Nelson can also play centre and take draws), and the speed of Terrance (to also potentially partner with Moore, as was already tested at U18 worlds). If McGroarty is good to go, Howard would become my extra and Terrance would become a third cut.

On defense, we know that returnees Lane Hutson, Ryan Chesley and Seamus Casey are going to play big roles and the decisions are really about the other four spots. I’ve gone with a lefty-righty balance here, with righty Eric Pohlkamp breaking the tie as the extra (his shot and physicality could give the team a boost both if the power play falters and if they want a little more juice). I could see Casey moving to his off-side if they don’t feel comfortable with their depth on the left, though.

Of my three cuts on the back end, I actually like the only righty, Aram Minnetian, the best. But he might be in tougher to make the team than lefties Jake Livanavage (an excellent skater) and Patrick Geary (a tougher type if they feel this group is missing that) because of the depth on the right side. — Scott Wheeler

Introducing the preliminary roster for the 2024 U.S. National Junior Team! 🇺🇸 #WorldJuniors

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) December 4, 2023

USA’s camp roster had three interesting decisions. Cutting two-time returnee Charlie Stramel, and draft-eligible Cole Eiserman, and Hunter Brzustewicz. I was fine with the former two. I’m a fan of the player but Stramel has struggled in his sophomore season and has been relegated to the tail-end part of Wisconsin’s lineup. Eiserman, while a great offensive talent with a bright pro future, isn’t ready for this level. He barely stood out in November at a U18 international tournament and has drawn more criticism than praise from NHL scouts for his play of late.

Brzustewicz isn’t a perfect player by any means. He’s 6-0 and a fine but not great skater. But he’s a very smart puck mover who has been a critical part of a top CHL team. Given the profile of that type of player, he seemed a more deserving candidate than a similar profile player in Aram Minnetian. Although given USA has Lane Hutson and Seamus Casey, another smaller puck-mover would have been redundant even if that’s how they built their blue line last season.

In projecting Team USA, I will presume Rutger McGroarty isn’t available as it seems unlikely he will be good to go despite being named one of 16 forwards to this camp. If he is healthy, he will take Isaac Howard’s spot in the lineup. I think Danny Nelson’s strong two-way play at Notre Dame will help earn him bottom-of-the-lineup ice time. Then it’s anyone’s guess who will be the 12/13 forward and the 6/7 defenseman. I like the way Livanavage plays, so despite being an undrafted small defenseman, his great skating and good enough hockey sense could get him a spot. — Corey Pronman

(Photos of Macklin Celebrini and Cutter Gauthier: Jari Pestelacci / Eurasia Sport Images / Getty Images, Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)