Friday, April 14, 2017

U.S. Worlds Team Has Strong NCAA Influence

Coaching staff, first 15 players named feature numerous college hockey connections.

U.S. Worlds Team Has Strong NCAA Influence
Cal Petersen was the first-team All-Hockey East goaltender and led Notre Dame to the Frozen Four as a junior.

Current NCAA players Daniel Brickley (Minnesota State), Jordan Greenway (Boston University) and Cal Petersen (Notre Dame) are among the numerous college hockey connections on the U.S. National Team that will compete in the 2017 IIHF World Championship, USA Hockey announced Thursday.

The U.S. coaching staff all have college connections and include assistant coach Rand Pecknold, the current head coach at Quinnipiac. The team’s head coach, Jeff Blashill, played at Ferris State and was the head coach at Western Michigan. His other assistants include Jack Capuano (Maine alum) and Seth Appert (Ferris State alum, former Rensselaer head coach).

Thirteen of the first 15 players named to the U.S. team played college hockey, including the three current players.

Player Current Team NCAA Team
Nick Bjugstad, F Florida Panthers Minnesota
Daniel Brickley, D Minnesota State Minnesota State
J.T. Compher, F Colorado Avalanche Michigan
Andrew Copp, F Winnipeg Jets Michigan
Danny DeKeyser, D Detroit Red Wings Western Michigan
Christian Dvorak, F Arizona Coyotes  
Jordan Greenway, F Boston University Boston University
Connor Hellebuyck, G Winnipeg Jets UMass Lowell
Jimmy Howard, G Detroit Red Wings Maine
Dylan Larkin, F Detroit Red Wings Michigan
Anders Lee, F New York Islanders Notre Dame
Connor Murphy, D Arizona Coyotes  
Brock Nelson, F New York Islanders North Dakota
Cal Petersen, G Notre Dame Notre Dame
Jacob Trouba, D Winnipeg Jets Michigan

Nine schools are represented among the first 15 selections, led by Michigan (four players) and Notre Dame (two).

The event will take place May 5-21 in Germany and France, with Team USA’s preliminary round games set for Cologne, Germany.