Thursday, May 3, 2012

Collegians Take to World Stage


Collegians Take to World Stage
Colgate’s Thomas Larkin will represent Italy in the upcoming IIHF World Championship (photo by Bob Cornell).

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. β€œHe 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