Cutter Gauthier, Ronnie Attard named to U.S. roster for World Championships

The Flyers will have two prospects representing Team USA at the World Championships this month in Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia.

Cutter Gauthier, the Flyers’ No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft, and defenseman Ronnie Attard, an AHL All-Star this season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, will both represent the Stars and Stripes at the annual international event.

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USA Hockey announced its initial 22-man roster Thursday for the tournament, which will take place from May 12-28.

The team consists of a combination of NHL veterans like Pittsburgh Penguins forward Nick Bonino and Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch along with prospects like Gauthier and Attard. There are three goaltenders, seven defensemen, and 12 forwards on the team.

Gauthier, who was born in Sweden while his father played professionally there, grew up in Arizona and Michigan. He is one of 10 players on the team who took part in USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. Gauthier was also part of the USA team that won bronze at the 2023 World Junior Championships. He is a rising sophomore at Boston College. As a freshman, Gauthier was the Eagles’ leading scorer with 16 goals and 37 points in 32 games.

Attard is one of five players making his IIHF world championship debut (including underage tournaments). While he did not take part in the NTDP, he has spent summers training at the facilities. Those offseason workouts helped Attard make it to the final cut at his first Flyers training camp under coach John Tortorella. While he played the remainder of the season with the Phantoms (outside of a two-game NHL stint), he was named an AHL All-Star in his first full professional season and finished as the Phantoms’ highest-scoring defenseman with 32 points in 68 games.

The selection is a huge opportunity for Gauthier and Attard to gain international experience and test themselves against NHL players. Flyers center Scott Laughton will represent Canada at the tournament.

Chris Clark, director of player personnel for the Columbus Blue Jackets, is the U.S. team’s general manager, while San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn will run the bench.

Training starts Saturday in Munich, Germany. After that, Team USA will play a pre-tournament game against Germany on May 9. USA’s first game of the tournament will be against cohost Finland on May 12 at 9:20 a.m. Philadelphia time. All games will be televised live on NHL Network.

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In six of the last nine world championships, the United States has made it to the semifinals. However, they have only four bronze medals to show for it (2013, 2015, 2018, and 2021).

Here is the United States’ full schedule (all in Philadelphia time):

Pre-tournament vs. Germany, 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 9, in Munich

Finland, 9:20 a.m. Friday, May 12, at Nokia Arena in Tampere

Hungary, 5:20 a.m. Sunday, May 14, at Nokia Arena

Austria, 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, May 17, at Nokia Arena

Denmark, 5:20 a.m. Saturday, May 20, at Nokia Arena

France, 1:20 p.m. Sunday, May 21, at Nokia Arena

Sweden, 9:20 a.m. Tuesday, May 23, at Nokia Arena

Medal round

Quarterfinals 1 and 2, 9:20 a.m. Thursday, May 25, at Nokia Arena and Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia

Quarterfinals 3 and 4, 1:20 a.m. Thursday, May 25, at Nokia Arena and Arena Riga

Semifinals 1 and 2, 7:20 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. Saturday, May 27, at Nokia Arena

Bronze medal game, 8:20 a.m. Sunday, May 28, at Nokia Arena

Gold medal game, 1:20 p.m. Sunday, May 28, at Nokia Arena