While many people in Minnesota were spending their summer afternoon out on the lake in the hot and humid temperatures, the World Junior Summer Showcase (WJSS) was just getting started at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. Team USA showed off their full roster with USA White taking on Finland in Game 1 on Sunday afternoon, July 27. Following that game was USA Blue, which faced Team Sweden.
The only team not to take the ice on Sunday was Team Canada because they don’t take the ice for games until Tuesday, July 29, when it will just be their roster split in two; Canada Red and Canada White facing off. Day 1 had a lot of speed, energy, and Team USA chants in the small crowd gathered at the arena. We’ll look at a few takeaways from the day, starting with Ryker Lee’s outstanding performance in the first game of the day.
Lee Stands Out for USA
Team USA has a lot of standout players, but in the first game of the day, three names took the spotlight, starting with Lee. He had two of his team’s five goals, and both of them were go-ahead goals. He drew a lot of attention and moved the puck well; he also assisted on another goal that earned him three points in the first game of the week. It was pretty likely he was going to make the final cut, but after this performance, it’s hard to imagine how he wouldn’t be on the final roster.
“I thought it was good, playing a game in the middle of the summer’s tough, playing with new guys, but everyone is such a great player and it kind of makes it easy for you when you’ve got those guys by your side,” Lee said when asked about how he felt his game was.
While Lee stood out with his two goals, James Hagens and Teddy Stiga also had strong games. The three of them made a solid line, and it may be a line that Team USA uses when December comes around and these games are on the way to a possible gold medal. While the second game of the day didn’t go Team USA’s way, they did have one standout player in that game, and that was L.J. Mooney. He’s not a big player, but he carried himself well, and he was a part of both his team’s goals as he scored one and assisted on the other.
Communication & Speed Noticed
The biggest thing that stood out for every team that played today, not only the United States, was how fast their players are. Team Canada didn’t get to show off their speed yet because their games haven’t started, but there’s no doubt they’ll fit right into that mold as well. It didn’t matter if a player was 5-foot-8 or 6-foot-6, they move with speed and finesse. In the NHL, sometimes the bigger guys are the slower-moving ones, but not at the WJSS. It seemed like every player was moving with speed and with their heads up.
The other things that were noticed were the amount of communication that goes on between the players and the officiating staff. Multiple times through the games, it was easy to hear players yelling to each other, and then the referees yelling instructions as well. The main reason this was so noticeable was because of the smaller arena setting. In the Xcel Energy Center, it’s noticeable but not nearly as easy to understand.
While playing in front of a smaller crowd may not be as enjoyable for the players in terms of excitement but it’s good for the players to be able to hear each other when they’re not used to playing together yet. They can develop their communication and get to know each other before they play in front of a much bigger crowd, where it can be tough to hear and understand.
Tensions Ran High
This may have been a showcase with no medals involved, but the players didn’t show that. They were physical in both games from the drop of the first puck. They threw some bone-crushing hits that shook the glass through the entire arena in hopes they’d make an impression on the coaching staff to put them on the roster.
However, their physicality wasn’t just hits; it was also scrums after the whistle that led to quite a few more whistles and warnings from the referees. It’s good to have competitiveness, but they also have to be careful and not get hurt by a badly timed hit. There was a knee-on-knee in one of the games that both players seemed to come out of okay, but things like that can end a career.
The high intensity and big hits are great for fans, and it keeps the game going at a high level, but they shouldn’t take away from the game either. For the most part, the players had things under control, and hopefully, they’ll continue that as they see each other over the next few days.
Goals & No Goals
The final couple of items from the first day were how the goals were and weren’t scored. While there were a couple of times where a team scored just one goal at a time, it was more often that they scored back-to-back goals, and then the other team would do the same. The goals came in multiples more than singles, it seemed. The teams were good at building off their own momentum and scoring multiple goals at a time.
However, although there were quite a few goals scored in both games, none of them were on the special teams. There were chances in both games for both teams on their respective power plays, and while they did get close, none of them could get it done. It is important to note that while there were no power-play goals scored, the penalty kills were all 100 percent, which is something not seen very often. It’ll be interesting to see if this continues throughout the week or which team will finally break through and score on their power play.
Related: 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase Preview
There are still five more days of games and practices throughout the week, and in that time, both Team USA and Team Canada will narrow their rosters down to the final cuts for December. Most of the players for both teams are likely known, but there may be some surprises in store as well.
