Monday, May 9, 2011

U.S. National Team Filled with College Ties

U.S. National Team Filled with College Ties

Twenty-one of the 25 players on USA Hockey’s roster for the 2011 IIHF World Championship played college hockey, including four who played in college this season.

The United States continues its quest for gold Monday at 10:15 a.m. ET with its final qualification round game, against Switzerland.

Hobey Baker Award winner Andy Miele of Miami, Boston College forward Chris Kreider (pictured) and Wisconsin’s Jake Gardiner and Craig Smith all are representing the United States following successful college seasons. Kreider is making his second World Championship appearance; the first-round pick of the New York Rangers was also part of the team last season.

Former Boston College goaltender Scott Gordon coaches Team USA, while Northeastern head coach Greg Cronin is one of his assistants.

The 21 college players represent 13 different schools. Michigan (Al Montoya, Mike Komisarek, Mike Brown and Jack Johnson) and Wisconsin (Jack Skille, Derek Stepan, Gardiner and Smith) have four represenatives each, while Boston College (Kreider and Ryan Shannon) and New Hampshire (Ty Conklin and James van Riemsdyk) each have a pair of players.

While the four mentioned above come straight from the college ranks, three other participants – Mark Fayne (Providence), Kevin Shattenkirk (Boston University) and Chris Porter (North Dakota) are just a year removed from their college careers.

For USA Hockey’s release and a complete roster, click here.

Other countries with college hockey representation include Canada (Travis Zajac), France (Stephane da Costa) and Latvia (Jekabs Redlihs).