During a short tournament like the World Junior Championship, selecting the right coaching staff is as important and can be as difficult as selecting the right players to fill out a roster. For Team USA, the process of putting the coaching staff together for the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship, set to begin Dec. 26 in Helsinki, started more than three years ago.

Soon after Ron Wilson's time as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs ended in March 2012, Jim Johannson, the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, reached out about the possibility of coaching Team USA at the championship.

"The pedigree and the background and what he brings to the program in terms of experience is way up here," Johannson said, raising his hand high and speaking of Wilson's 18 years as an NHL coach and experience as bench boss for Team USA at three world championships, two Olympics and two World Cups. "Ron has a lot of experience with USA Hockey, and I knew coaching at this tournament was missing from his resume and thought he might be interested."

He wasn't at the time, but Johannson kept watering the seed he had planted, and this spring it finally sprouted.

"The first year [he asked], I certainly wasn't ready. Because my experience in Toronto was such a bad one, I wasn't ready to coach anyone, especially younger kids," Wilson explained. "As time wore on, I've gotten hungrier and hungrier and wanted to get back into the game, and that's when I spoke with JJ and asked if that door was still open."

Once Wilson -- the first coach for Team USA at this tournament with NHL experience -- was onboard, it was time to select a supporting cast.

"I wanted to get Chris Chelios on this coaching staff because he's been a big part of the USA teams that I've coached and because of the success we've had together," Wilson said. "Cheli's really trying to learn as much as he can about coaching, and I think he's done a good job preparing for this opportunity."

Chelios has had an accomplished 26-year NHL career that saw him win three Stanley Cups and three Norris Trophies as the NHL's best defenseman and an international career that includes four Olympics, three Canada Cups, two World Cups and one World Junior Championship, not to mention the NCAA Championship he helped Wisconsin win in 1982. After those achievements, Chelios tried his hand at management as the assistant general manager for the Detroit Red Wings under Ken Holland, but it wasn't for him.

Ron Wilson has been the bench boss for Team USA at three world championships, two Olympics and two World Cups. AP Photo/Keystone/Patrick B. Kraemer

"It didn't suit me," Chelios explained. "I like being in the dressing room and on the ice with the guys, and that's why I've turned my attention to coaching these past few years."

He's spent the past five seasons as a coaching consultant for the Grand Rapids Griffins, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Red Wings, to help mentor their prospects, but he has never been behind the bench during a game. He's is hoping his experiences in Grand Rapids will help him as he embraces this new challenge.

"It really came out of nowhere. Ron Wilson gave me a call earlier in the summer and asked if I wanted to be on his coaching staff. It was completely unexpected, but I'm really grateful for the opportunity," Chelios said. "I just hope I can add a little fire that I had when I was a player. When the kids need a little pick-me-up, I hope to be able to help them with that."

That fire is something that made Chelios an American hockey legend and Hall of Fame player, and it's something the powers that be at USA Hockey are not only hoping he'll bring to this table while coaching this team, but are expecting it.

"He's a very competitive guy who wants to win at all costs and I think he's going to ingrain that on our players -- what real compete is, what real sacrifice is and how you need to raise your level of compete to help the team win," said Johannson.

With two coaches that have a plethora of experience either coaching or playing in the NHL but no experience coaching this age group or knowledge of this specific pool of players, they needed someone who could fill that gap.

Danton Cole has been coach at the U.S. national team development program in Michigan for the past five seasons and previously coached in the AHL, NCAA and the United States Hockey League. He also spent seven seasons playing in the NHL; won a Stanley Cup; wore the red, white and blue at the world championships three times; and won an NCAA championship with Michigan State.

"I've been really lucky in my life to wear the USA sweater and coach a lot of USA teams and it's always an honor and a privilege to be asked. So, I'm just excited to have the opportunity to contribute to this team," Cole said. "I've always wanted to be a part of this tournament. I wanted to do it as a player and wasn't able to do that, so I'm really excited to be able to come back and do it as a coach. And getting to work with Coach Wilson and Chris, who I've known for a long time, it's been a lot of fun. There's a lot of hockey knowledge being thrown around, and I'm learning a lot working with them."

For Wilson, Cole's knowledge of the players is invaluable.

"Having a guy with me who knows the players and is so familiar with them is so important," Wilson said. "I'm constantly asking him questions about the players, and Danton has a real good feel for their strengths and weaknesses and how to motivate and encourage them, and that knowledge is so helpful while I'm getting to know them better myself."

Learning more about the players will likely be Wilson's biggest challenge in guiding this team.

"Not knowing the players that well can be a blessing because I see them with fresh eyes, but right now it's probably more of a curse because I'm having so much trouble recognizing the players and remembering their names and who is who," Wilson explained. "I'm becoming more and more familiar with them and their traits as we go though, but I've never seen anyone play before, so I have a lot of scouting to do this fall."

Rounding out the coaching staff is goaltending coach Kevin Reiter, who has spent the past two seasons as the goaltending coach at the NTDP.

"Kevin has a huge responsibility overseeing our goaltending program as a whole, but also having experience with this age group and a working knowledge of these specific players and I thought it was very important for him to be on this coaching staff," said Johannson.

"We've had these goalies in for different camps in the past, and I've gotten to see them in a lot of situations. I know what makes them tick and what they like and what they don't like and how they deal with adversity, and to earn this opportunity after only two years of coaching with USA Hockey is a huge honor," Reiter said. "Being able to work with someone with almost 20 years of NHL coaching experience is an opportunity that doesn't happen often. I'm just hoping to take away as much knowledge and information as possible in the short time that I am coaching with him."

Now that the annual national junior team evaluation camp in Lake Placid, New York, is over, the real work for this coaching staff begins as it will be included in the scouting process to select the preliminary roster for Team USA.

"Our work has just begun," said Wilson. "I'm excited to get out once the season starts and see these players -- and a few others -- play in games that matter and how we might be able to take their strengths and make them work for us in Finland. We aren't just going over there to play. We want to win, and that starts with putting together a team that puts us in the best position to do that."

And that includes coaches.