He will be joined by the entire 2017 coaching staff with assistants Greg Brown, Grant Potulny, Kris Mayotte and Steve Miller all returning.

The US is due to host the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championships in Buffalo, New York from December 26, 2017 to January 5, 2018.

Motzko will become the first coach to lead the country at two successive IIHF World Junior Championships since Keith Allain did so in 2001 and 2002.

He will aim to guide the US to back-to-back victories for the first time ever.

"I'm deeply honoured that USA Hockey has asked me and my staff to lead the United States in this event once again," said Motzko, who led the US to a gold medal in what was his international head coaching debut.

"While winning gold was special, the opportunity to win gold on home ice is even more enticing.

"We're excited to work together again and begin our journey towards another gold medal at our national junior evaluation camp in August.”

Motzko will be representing the US for a third time.

In addition to his gold medal-winning head coaching performance, Motzko served as an assistant coach for the US team at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championships in Swedish city Malmö.

In his 12 seasons at the helm of St Cloud State University, the 2014 National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) coach of the year and two-time Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) coach of the year has produced seven 20-or-more-win seasons.

He has also delivered seven National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament appearances, one NCAA Frozen Four appearance, two regular-season conference titles and one NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship.

Brown, who served as an assistant coach with Motzko last year and also on the 2014 US junior team, will be behind the American bench for the third time.

A US Olympian in 1988 and 1992, Brown has spent the past 13 seasons with the Boston College men's ice hockey programme where he works closely with the team's defencemen and special teams.

Potulny will be serving on the staff of his third US junior team and seeking his third gold medal after helping the nation claim one in 2013 and another last year. 

Mayotte and Miller, meanwhile, will be members of a US national team coaching staff for the second time.

"It's terrific to have this staff return with Bob at the helm," said Jim Johannson, assistant executive director for hockey operations at USA Hockey.

"We're looking forward to having the tournament on our home soil and it will be a real benefit to have an experienced coaching staff lead us in our quest to repeat last year's gold-medal performance."

Johannson will serve as general manager of the 2018 US junior team, which will contest the first outdoor game in the history of IIHF World Junior Championship tournament play when they take on Canada at New Era Field on December 29.