Predicting Next Year's US Olympic Hockey Roster

I'm working under the assumption that NHL players will be participating in next winter's Olympics in Sochi, Russia. After a Silver Medal at the last Winter Olympics, and a Gold Medal at this year's World Juniors, I think that Team USA will be set up for a run at Gold next year. There are a lot of quality players for Team USA to choose from next year, so let's get this thing start.

Goalies

Without Ryan Miller in '10 and Gibson at the past World Juniors, it's likely that Team USA wouldn't have a medal. However, great goaltending is something I think we can expect again at next year's Olympics for the US. I think the two goaltenders will be Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick and Olympic veteran Ryan Miller with Quick being the starter. Quick showed in the playoffs last year how he can step his game up when it matters, and has been consistently excellent for a couple of years now. The team will carry a third goalie as insurance, and have a variety of options including Cory Schneider (VAN), Jimmy Howard (DET), and the wildcard: Tim Thomas (BOS) who claims to want play NHL hockey next year just to make the team. I think they'll carry Schneider as the third goalie, just to give him the experience. The bottom line is as long as Quick is healthy, goaltending should be a strength for the team..

Defense

In my mind, there's only one lock on defense and that's Minnesota defender Ryan Suter who is an Olympic veteran. The defense will be drastically different from the last incarnation with Rafalski retired and Whitney and Gleason likely no longer being  part of the discussion. Olympic veterans Brooks Orpik, Jack Johnson, and Erik Johnson will all likely be considered but I think only one of them - Brooks Orpik or Jack Johnson - will be carried as an extra D. In my mind, Kevin Shattenkirk is an obvious guy to replace the puck movement Brian Rafalski brought. Dustin Byfuglien and Keith Yandle are other defensemen who can bring the offense and I think will make the team. I then think Ryan McDonagh and Justin Faulk will make the team to balance the pairings out with guys who are especially strong in their own end. Apart from the names already mentioned, I think Zach Bogosian and Alex Goligoski could also be options though both would have to really impress.

Forwards

There's going to be a lot of returning players at forward including: Zach Parise, Patrick Kane, Ryan Kesler, David Backes, Ryan Callahan, Dustin Brown, Bobby Ryan, Phil Kessel, and Joe Pavelski. Entering the conversation this time around are Max Pacioretty, Derek Stepan, James van Riemsdyk, and T.J. Oshie. I think these will be the forwards with the likes of Paul Stastny, Ryan Malone, and Blake Wheeler all also being in the conversation.

The Team

Parise - Kesler - Kane
van Riemsdyk - Pavelski - Ryan
Brown - Backes - Callahan
Pacioretty - Stepan - Kessel

Suter - Faulk
McDonagh - Shattenkirk
Yandle - Byfuglien

Quick - Miller

(Oshie - Schneider - Orpik)

I like the looks of that team and think the roster will look pretty similar to that next year at the Olympics. What do you think?