At the World Cup of Hockey last fall, it was clear that Team USA’s roster was in need of a serious overhaul. Old and slow, the stars who led the U.S. to victory in 1996 were no longer up to snuff, and the Americans were upset by Finland in the semifinals. Not content to watch his team suffer another embarrassing defeat in international competition, Team USA GM Don Waddell has completely revamped the roster for the upcoming World Championships, which begin on April 30 in Austria.

Participation by NHLers in this annual 16-nation tournament is usually spotty, as many of the best players are still playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs. But with the NHL on ice this spring, Waddell was free to choose from the entire pool of American players, and it was conceivable that he would try to assemble an all-star squad reminiscent of higher-profile international tournaments like the Olympics or the World Cup.

Luckily for the future of American hockey, he resisted. The tentative roster Waddell announced yesterday was notable for its omissions. Keith Tkachuk, Brett Hull, Jeremy Roenick, Bill Guerin, John LeClair, and Tony Amonte will not be lining up at forward. A hodgepodge of relatively unknown youngsters will take their places, with Doug Weight and Mike Modano the only holdovers from the legendary 1996 team.

The common theme for the roster is speed, and the Americans will try to take advantage of the larger ice surface used in international competition. Joining Modano and Weight up front will be the diminutive Mike York, 27, who enjoyed a stint of success with the Rangers on a line with Eric Lindros and Theoren Fleury, and has maintained his scoring touch and energetic play with the Edmonton Oilers.

At just 5 feet 7 inches tall, the Devils’ Brian Gionta, 26, is the smallest of the American forwards. One-third of the NHL’s most effective scoring line (alongside Patrick Elias and Scott Gomez) during the second half of the 2003-04 season, Gionta makes up for his tiny stature with a hard-nosed style reminiscent of a young Fleury.

Another small, quick winger, the Korean-born Richard Park, 28, helped Team USA to the bronze medal at last year’s Worlds; it was their best finish in the tournament since 1996.

The defense has also undergone a considerable makeover; Chris Chelios, Brian Leetch, and Derian Hatcher will all be absent. The anchor of the blue line is now the hard-hitting Aaron Miller of the Los Angeles Kings, who first burst onto the international scene with Team USA’s silver medal-winning 2002 Olympic team.

Joining Miller, 33, will be a trio of slick, young skaters: the Devils’ Paul Martin, the Colorado Avalanche’s John-Michael Liles, and the Calgary Flames’ Jordan Leopold, all 24. Swiss leaguer Andy Roach, who scored a pair of sensational shootout goals in last year’s tournament adds a scoring touch. The Boston Bruins’ Hal Gill, 30, who at 6 feet 7 inches and 250 pounds is by far Team USA’s largest player, will provide some grit.

In goal, Edmonton’s Ty Conklin is expected to be the starter, with the Islanders’ Rick DiPietro and the Bruins’ Tim Thomas backing him up. DiPietro is by far the most gifted of the three, and it is likely that he will take over before long. In what came as a bit of a surprise, the Philadelphia Flyers’ Robert Esche was passed over despite a stellar World Cup performance last year.

Team USA’s plethora of small, fast players is reminiscent of the Rangers team coached by the legendary Herb Brooks during the mid-1980s. Dubbed the “Smurfs,” that team was chock full of pocket-sized speedsters, and they captured the affections of New York hockey fans. Though this lineup probably won’t dominate in Vienna, they should prove difficult to play against.

In putting together this roster, Waddell wisely tried – wherever possible – to select players who have played competitive hockey this season. Most of the big-name American stars have been out of action since the World Cup, and it’s clear that an out-of-shape, aged American lineup would have been demolished by European teams stocked with active players. Instead, 16 of the 21 players selected for the World Championships have been active either in Europe or in the AHL. And whereas the average age on the 2004 World Cup team was 31, this group’s average age is 27; at 34, Modano and Weight are the elder statesmen.

Needless to say, a changing of the guard for Team USA was long overdue, and Waddell has precious little to lose with the moves he’s made. Public sentiment is skewed dramatically against the Nhlpa, and snubbing vocal veterans like Guerin and Chelios is unlikely to generate much, if any, backlash. Instead, Waddell has the opportunity to take the team in a completely new direction, one that might well serve as the blueprint for Team USA’s future international entries.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of INSIDE HOCKEY (insidehockey.com).