Tuesday, December 2, 2014

20 Named to U.S. World Junior Camp

Boston College, Michigan lead group of nine schools with at least one representative attending pre-tournament camp.


20 Named to U.S. World Junior Camp
North Dakota’s Nick Schmaltz was the NCHC Rookie of the Month in October.

Twenty current or future NCAA players fill the roster of the 2015 U.S. National Junior Team Training Camp, released Tuesday by USA Hockey.

USA Hockey Announcement | U.S. Schedule

The 30-player training camp will take place Dec. 16-19 at Boston University and Dec. 20-24 in Kingston, Ont. The time at BU includes an exhibition game against the Terriers on Dec. 19 at Walter Brown Arena. The final U.S. roster for the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship will be named Dec. 24, with games beginning Friday, Dec. 26, vs. Finland in Montreal.

Boston College and Michigan lead all schools with five current players among the participants. Boston College also has the only two commits named to the training camp roster (Jeremy Bracco and Miles Wood). Nine schools in total will have at least one player at training camp.

Returnees from the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team include Will Butcher (Denver), Thatcher Demko (Boston College), Jack Eichel (Boston University), Hudson Fasching (Minnesota) and Steve Santini (Boston College).

Among the invitees are some of college hockey’s top performers this season. Eichel, as a freshman, leads all NCAA players with 21 points through 13 games. Michigan’s Dylan Larkin is among the nation’s top-scoring freshmen with 12 points, two more than teammates and fellow camp participants J.T. Compher, Tyler Motte and Zach Werenski. Yale’s John Hayden and Boston College’s Alex Tuch both lead their teams in scoring.

The U.S. coaching staff features a strong NCAA flavor, led by former Wisconsin star and Ohio State head coach Mark Osiecki, who currently serves as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. He is assisted by another former Badger, current U.S. NTDP coach Don Granato, along with current NCAA assistants Kevin Patrick (Vermont) and Mike Ayers (Boston College).

Former Wisconsin star Jim Johansson, USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey operations, is the team’s general manager.

NCAA Players Named to 2015 U.S. National Junior Team Training Camp

Player Team Pos.
Thatcher Demko Boston College G
Will Butcher Denver D
Ryan Collins Minnesota D
Jack Dougherty Wisconsin D
Michael Downing Michigan D
Noah Hanifin Boston College D
Ian McCoshen Boston College D
Steve Santini Boston College D
Zach Werenski Michigan D
Jeremy Bracco Boston College (2015) F
J.T. Compher Michigan F
Jack Eichel Boston University F
Hudson Fasching Minnesota F
John Hayden Yale F
Dylan Larkin Michigan F
Anthony Louis Miami F
Tyler Motte Michigan F
Nick Schmaltz North Dakota F
Alex Tuch Boston College F
Miles Wood Boston College (2015) F