Team USA announces final cuts to WJC roster.

Although the National Hockey League is still likely a month away the International Ice Hockey Federation will soon be putting on what is one of the most exciting tournaments of the year, the World Junior Championship. 

Each and every year we get to watch the best and brightest young stars in the game compete on the international stage and over the course of this week each country has announced their final rosters for the tournament. The latest comes from USA Hockey who on Saturday announced all of the young men that will be representing the United States of America at the tournament, with some big names being omitted from the list.

Before we get into the surprises, first let's look at the officially announced roster:

The big surprise of the day comes in the form of Bruins prospect John Beecher failing to make the cut. Beecher, the Bruins first round pick (30th overall) at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, was expected to be among those representing the USA at the tournament. It is unclear at this time why Beecher has been excluded from the World Junior roster but TSN NHL insider Bob McKenzie has highlighted that Beecher still has a 1 game suspension to serve under the IIHF. In a tournament of this nature that could have played a factor.

Update: McKenzie is now reporting that Beecher's exclusion has been come as a result of testing protocols, no more details are available at this time.

Another notable absence from the roster is that of forward Nick Robertson, 2nd round pick (53rd overall) of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, although this comes as much less of a surprise. Robertson was expected to be one of the top forwards for the Americans at this tournament, however the combination of the NHL's delayed start to the 2021 season and the ongoing pandemic have resulted in him being omitted from the roster. Robertson would have been forced to miss the first several days of training camp with the Maple Leafs had Team USA reached the finals of the tournament and although that may not sound like a big deal, for a player in Robertson's position it is. Unsurprisingly his priority is making the Leafs roster in 2021 and as a result it sounds like this decision may have been made by the player himself.