Predictions and odds for the United States' performance at the 2022 Hockey World Championship

The last time the U.S. team triumphed in the World Cup was in 1960. Can the Americans reach the gold medals for the first time in 62 years at the 2022 World Cup? 

The USA is a unique team, consistently ranked among the gold medal contenders, but the last time they won was in 1960. Indeed, from time to time, the Americans bring to tournaments star players like Patrick Kane, Johnny Gaudreau, Jack Eichel, and Ryan Suter, but even with these players, they cannot claim the title.

In their despair, the Stars and Stripes have increasingly begun sending young players from various college leagues to major international tournaments and hockey players who did not have a good season in the NHL to get playing experience. At the 2021 World Cup, the Americans played great in the group. They crushed the Slovaks in the quarterfinals, lost in the semifinals to Canada, and won over the Germans in the battle for the bronze medals.

Once again, the USA formed for the 2022 Olympics a very young squad. Still, they managed to showcase bright and high-quality hockey in the group stage, beating China, Canada, and Germany with a combined score of 15:4. It seemed that such a squad of David Quinn would surely get to the medals of the tournament. In the quarterfinals, they beat Slovakia by 2:1, but they believed in success too early, allowing their opponent to tie with 44 seconds left in the third period. In overtime, the team conceded and lost 2:3.

In recent years, the U.S. national team has refused to invite star players to major international tournaments. In the current roster the most seasoned player is probably Seth Jones, which in itself speaks volumes about the level of the American team. Even with that lineup they occasionally show quality play and good results, but at the crucial moment they still lack experience, losing upsettingly. We should hardly expect anything serious from David Quinn's squad so we need to place our bet on them not to qualify for the semifinals of World Cup-2022.

The USA team finds itself in the same group with three European giants at once. Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland certainly look stronger in their selection of players. Also, the commitment shown in the group stage of the World Championships often leaves a lot to be desired. THe team can take three points from the British, Austrians and Norwegians, but they will have to work hard to succeed in other games. There is a high probability that the Americans will fight for the fourth place in the group, so the best option for the prediction is a total under 14.5 points for the team.

The United States brings to the 2022 World Cup in Finland a very specific squad. Still, they have a good goalkeeping group led by Alex Nedeljkovic, a solid defensive line with Seth Jones as a standout, but the attack is troubled. Roughly zero forwards with extensive NHL experience, even fewer who would consistently earn points. Most of the forwards are third- or fourth-liners who are supposed to hold off opposing leaders, as well as promising youngsters who play in the minor leagues. It is difficult to predict who will be their opponents, but it is worth looking at the bet on the total under 14.5 conceded pucks.

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