Thursday, May 3, 2012
Collegians Take to World Stage
More than 30 college hockey veterans representing six nations will compete in the 2012 IIHF World Championship in Finland and Sweden, which begins play on Friday.
Twenty-one U.S. colleges have at least one former player participating in the tournament (see chart below).
The U.S. features 20 former college players on its 23-man roster, led by captain Jack Johnson (Michigan/Columbus Blue Jackets).
Seven schools – Boston College, Colorado College, Denver, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth – have two representatives each on the U.S. roster.
Former Champs
The two former UMD Bulldogs playing for Team USA – J.T. Brown and Justin Faulk – were both members of the 2011 national champions. Both were freshmen on that team, with Faulk signing with the Carolina Hurricanes after the season and Brown playing one more year at UMD prior to signing with Tampa Bay.
Former Boston College goaltender Scott Gordon will be the head coach of Team USA. Greg Cronin, who played at Colby and coached at Maine and Northeastern, and David Quinn, a Boston University alum, will assist Gordon.
Canada counters with three former college players on its roster: Duncan Keith (Michigan State), Teddy Purcell (Maine) and Patrick Sharp (Vermont).
Current Collegian
The lone current college player participating is Italy’s Thomas Larkin, who was a junior at Colgate this season.
“This is great for Thomas, the Colgate hockey program and collegiate hockey,” said Colgate head coach Don Vaughan. “He has worked very hard to be in this position and we are all proud of him here at Colgate. It going to be great to see him compete with the best players in the world and it should be a valuable experience for him.”
Joining Larkin on the Italian team are five former college players: Daniel Bellisimo (Western Michigan), Matt de Marchi (Minnesota), Derek Edwardson (Miami), Vince Rocco (Niagara) and Rob Sirianni (Bemidji State).
Germany boasts a pair of former college players in Evan Kaufmann (Minnesota) and Justin Krueger (Cornell).
Five Hockey East alums round out the former college hockey players participating in the tournament, led by a trio of UMass Lowell alums playing for France: Baptiste Amar, Laurent Meunier and Yorick Treille. They are joined by former Merrimack star Stephane Da Costa. Sweden’s roster features former Vermont star Viktor Stalberg.
Each of Team USA’s games will be televised by NBC Sports Network in the U.S.
College Players by Country
| Canada | |
| Duncan Keith | Michigan State |
| Teddy Purcell | Maine |
| Patrick Sharp | Vermont |
| France | |
| Baptiste Amar | UMass Lowell |
| Stephane Da Costa | Merrimack |
| Laurent Meunier | UMass Lowell |
| Yorick Treille | UMass Lowell |
| Germany | |
| Evan Kaufmann | Minnesota |
| Justin Kreuger | Cornell |
| Italy | |
| Daniel Bellisimo | Western Michigan |
| Matt De Marchi | Minnesota |
| Derek Edwardson | Miami |
| Thomas Larkin | Colgate |
| Vince Rocco | Niagara |
| Rob Sirianni | Bemidji State |
| Sweden | |
| Viktor Stalberg | Vermont |
| United States | |
| Justin Abdelkader | Michigan State |
| Cam Atkinson | Boston College |
| Richard Bachman | Colorado College |
| Justin Braun | Massachusetts |
| J.T. Brown | Minnesota Duluth |
| Chris Butler | Denver |
| Joey Crabb | Colorado College |
| John Curry | Boston University |
| Patrick Dwyer | Western Michigan |
| Justin Faulk | Minnesota Duluth |
| Alex Goligoski | Minnesota |
| Jack Johnson | Michigan |
| Ryan Lasch | St. Cloud State |
| Kyle Okposo | Minnesota |
| Max Pacioretty | Michigan |
| Kyle Palmieri | Notre Dame |
| Jeff Petry | Michigan State |
| Jim Slater | Michigan State |
| Paul Stastny | Denver |