NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman posted an article in which he discusses the U.S. National Junior Team’s depth in goal as the team prepares for the 2025 World Junior Championship (to be held in Ottawa, ON this upcoming December) by holding the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, MI this week.
There are five goaltenders competing for 2 or 3 spots on the national team at the WJSS, but one has already been sent home.
Red Wings prospect Trey Augustine went unbeaten at last year’s World Juniors, posting a 4-and-0 record with a 1.75 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage. As the incumbent starter, he’s been allowed to leave Plymouth to continue training for his sophomore season at Michigan State University.
Kimelan discusses all five goaltenders who are battling for a spot on the U.S. World Junior team, including Augustine, and the Red Wings prospect earns a significant chunk of text in Kimelman’s article–first:
“I think we’re obviously blessed with good depth,” [Team USA coach David] Carle said Thursday. “Starts at the top with Trey. I think that’s a little bit different than a year ago, there was a bit of a battle there. Not to say that there won’t be this year, but Trey looked very good in his time here. And then we’ve got these guys who are still here, and they’ve all played well in their moments and I’m sure the battle and the competition will go through the fall here into the college and junior seasons.”
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He hasn’t been designated the starter, but with a gold and a bronze medal (2023) at the World Juniors, a gold medal at the 2023 IIHF Under-18 World Championship and experience playing at the 2024 IIHF World Championship, it’s expected Augustine will get the bulk of the starts when the tournament is held in Ottawa from Dec. 26-Jan. 5.
“When you think about Trey and his game, I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a smarter goalie than him in terms of how he reads things,” U.S. goaltending coach David Lassonde said. “But also in terms of, ‘OK, these are the little things that I might not necessarily do great right now that I need to work on,’ he recognizes that, he acts on it. Then when you think about it, this is going to be his third consecutive World Junior experience. He played on our men’s Worlds team. He’s won two gold medals in IIHF competition. He was a national champion at (the youth program) HoneyBaked as a U-15. He just knows how to win. And I think there’s something to say for that in terms of what he brings to the table. And then for him, there’s a level of maturity that is beyond his years.”
Kimelman continues, and he covers the other four goaltenders battling for spots behind Augustine–Sam Hillebrandt, Hampton Slukynysky, Nicholas Kempf and Carsen Musser.
