Youth could work in one of two ways for Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey. It could be the fuel that powers a deep run in the latest reincarnation of the best-on-best tournament, or it could be the detriment in defeat.
Spearheading the roster for the North Americans, general manager Peter Chiarelli is hoping for the former. He describes his squad, represented by players 23-and-under from Canada and the United States, as "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" and oozing with energy.
"The youth psyche helps us on a number of different levels," he said.
Chiarelli points to the expansive start time veteran legs sometimes require to get going in the fall. By contrast, young players are revved up and ready to go from Day 1.
Health also tends to be less of a concern, he added.
If young, Team North America is also booming with speed and skill. The roster includes some of the most enticing long-term talents in the sport, including each of the last four No. 1 draft picks. The prospect of all that hope joined together makes North America a team to watch at the World Cup.
Excitement was palpable at training camp last week when head coach Todd McLellan paired the top two picks of the 2015 draft, Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, with the electric Johnny Gaudreau. Similar electricity was evident when McLellan teamed up Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, all No. 1 overall picks.
Connections of this kind might never be seen again for many reasons, including the long-term uncertainty of the tournament and its format.
Just about every player on the roster has already made a real dent on the NHL, including McDavid, who recorded more than a point-per-game for the Oilers when healthy last season and Gaudreau, the 23-year-old American who tied for sixth in league scoring.
Only Matthews, the top pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in June, has yet to impact the league and that’s bound to change as soon as the World Cup comes to a close.
Beyond Canada, this is the most skilled team in the tournament and probably the fastest.
Management wondered about the goaltending in constructing the roster, but Matt Murray’s performance for the Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins eased those concerns somewhat.
The defence remains a question mark.
Aaron Ekblad, Morgan Rielly, Seth Jones, Jacob Trouba and Ryan Murray all came into the NHL as teenagers and have piled up big minutes, but how will they handle matchups with Sidney Crosby or Patrick Kane in a single elimination game or best-of-three final?
Chiarelli notes that none of the seven have served as "the anchor" for their respective teams.
"None of them are on the forefront yet in their careers so when you talk about matchups in tense moments I think they’re going to be tested," Chiarelli said.
NHL head coaches typically minimize the exposure of young defenders to top lines, but that’s just not possible in a potential matchup against the Canadians, whose fourth line might just include Joe Thornton, the league’s fourth-leading scorer last season.
Chiarelli, in scouting for North America, saw his youthful defenders make mistakes in matchups against those like Crosby and Kane, but "now it’s one game and everything gets magnified."
Can the defence absorb the pressure of attacks like Canada’s and get the puck safely, and consistently, to that prodigious forward group?
"I think if we’re able to break the puck out clean on a consistent basis I think we’ll win," said Chiarelli when asked what would make his team victorious.
The quality of North America’s goaltending remains in doubt if only because of the inexperience of Murray and his likely backup John Gibson, neither of whom has been a full-time starter in the NHL just yet. But as Murray demonstrated in the spring last season, winning 15 of 21 starts for Pittsburgh, age doesn’t really matter when it comes to performance between the pipes.
Age may not matter when it comes to North America either, even if expectations lie lower for that very reason. Talent might just push this group to the top.
"They’re the team that’s scary right," Team Canada forward Tyler Seguin said. "Because that’s a team that really has no pressure."
