Much like Canada has in the past, Team USA might have to defend its gold minus some key players.
Much is made every year about holes in Team Canada's world junior roster.
Year in and year out, Canada ices a team without some of its most notable junior-aged players when the holiday-season tournament begins. Canada's biggest names are usually seeing their National Hockey League dreams take flight, making them unavailable for the junior team.
There's no question the Canadian contingent would have loved to have included John Tavares and Matt Duchene on last year's team. The year before that, Steven Stamkos left a big hole to fill while he was getting his feet wet with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
This year will be no exception. Canada isn't likely to have either of last year's first- and second-overall picks, Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin, available to don the maple leaf. Neither will they count on having former Kitchener Rangers gunslinger, Jeff Skinner.
But the Canadian management isn't the only one that will likely feel the NHL's influence when it comes to picking a roster. The tournament-host Americans could be in for a similar predicament next month.
The defending gold-medal champions will be strong, but several stars could also be missing in action when the tournament opens on Dec. 26. At least four potential returnees are question marks for the Americans, while another is being fast-tracked in the professional ranks.
Cam Fowler, Jeremy Morin, Jerry D'Amigo, Kyle Palmieri and Nick Leddy would be no-brainers for the American team in Buffalo. The only problem is that all five have already turned pro, four of which played in an NHL game this season.
It's not certain if this group will be unavailable, as those decisions will be made by the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs, respectively.
USA Hockey might have one aspect working in its favour: they're hosting the tournament. Not only does it cut down on travel for the players and makes it easier for scouts to follow their progress, but a team might be more likely to release its player for the tournament on their home soil.
But even that might not be enough. Just ask any organizing committee of the latest Canadian world junior tournaments how well the patriotic angle worked for them. The Canadian team obviously wasn't granted any favours by NHL teams with the tournament in Saskatchewan last year.
Ryan Ellis was able to make his Christmas plans early this season after the Nashville Predators sent him back to Windsor for another season in junior. The two-time world junior defenceman is a lock to make the Canadian squad, but doesn't expect to line up against Fowler, his former Spitfire teammate.
"I think Team USA would really want him," Ellis said. "He's obviously a great player, but I don't think he'll be available. He's one of the big guns up there for Anaheim. He's playing really well. Losing him, I think, wouldn't bode too well for the Ducks."
Many felt the Americans were the odds-on favourite to repeat as gold medalists after last year's stunning overtime victory over Canada in Saskatoon. The truth is the returning core could be shrinking to the point where that favourite status could be stripped.
One thing is certain: Jack Campbell, a teammate of Ellis' in Windsor, will be the starter. Campbell is happy with his former world junior teammates' ascension, even if it means he'll have some unfamiliar faces join him in Buffalo.
"As great as it would have been to have some of those guys be a part of this year's team, it's just a challenge for us," Campbell said. "The great part of this year's U.S. team is we're so deep that even without those guys we're still going to have a great hockey club.
"I think it's just a compliment to USA hockey and the progression they've taken in developing players."
These players' progression will obviously be at the forefront in determining whether or not they will be made available.
Interestingly, had they all been playing in the Canadian Hockey League at the time they were drafted, the majority of them would likely be available. The agreement between the CHL and the NHL stipulates that players aren't eligible for the American Hockey League until they're 20-years old, at which point they would be too old to participate in the tournament.
With the exception of Fowler, each played the majority of the season in the AHL.
Morin's immediate future was a hot-button topic at the start of this season. After suiting up for the Kitchener Rangers last season, he made the jump to the Blackhawks' farm system as a 19-year old. Since he was drafted in 2009 as part of the United States National Team Development Program and not the Rangers, Morin was deemed eligible for the AHL.
It was a tough pill to swallow for Rangers head coach and general manager Steve Spott. Now the Americans could be taking that same Blackhawks-prescribed dosage.
"He has an opportunity to win another gold medal, potentially, with USA Hockey in Buffalo -- his home state," Spott relayed in October. "Whether or not that's going to happen now, I don't know."
It's no secret the Americans want to emulate the success of Canada on the ice. Now that the skate is on the other foot, they might find it’s not so easy to achieve.
