Today USA Hockey announced their preliminary World Junior Championship roster. The process as this point is for them to have their camp, begin COVID-19 testing and then fly to Edmonton on December 13.

Nick Robertson, who did not attend the selection camp in Michigan, is in Canada, and it’s not clear if he will go to Michigan on December 6 to join the USA camp and then return to Canada a few days later or not. He doesn’t require any isolation to go directly to the Edmonton bubble if he stays in this country and he tests negative. Since he is participating in the Maple Leafs pre-camp training in Toronto, he is already being tested regularly under those protocols.

It’s also not clear what would happen if the NHL and NHLPA suddenly started compromising on the new season salary deferrals and escrow and announced a date for training camp, but since the WJC runs to January 5, it seems very unlikely that, even if the miracle of cooperation happened today, the NHL camps would really begin before the WJC is over.

The rest of the teams will fly into Edmonton on three charter flights at the same time, and all teams are beginning with a larger than normal roster to allow for positive tests cutting players.

Robertson has two goals and three assists in five games in his first WJC last year. But we all want to see him on the ice vs Rodion Amirov and Mikhail Abramov. This needs to happen.

IIHF World Championships