Thursday, December 7, 2017
Recruits Set for WJAC
Nearly half of all Division I teams have a commit in tournament.
Dozens of future NCAA stars will be in action as the World Junior A Challenge (WJAC) opens Sunday in Truro, Nova Scotia, showcasing players committed to 29 different Division I schools.
The WJAC features six teams – two from Canada and one each from the U.S., Czech Republic, Russia and Switzerland.
The Canadian teams are all-star groups from the 10 leagues in the CJHL and together feature 28 players already committed to Division I schools. The U.S. team features the top American-born players from the USHL, with all 22 players on the roster committed to schools.
All six Division I conferences and independent Arizona State have recruits participating in the WJAC. St. Cloud State and Yale lead all schools with four recruits each participating in the tournament. Seven schools have commits playing on two WJAC teams: Clarkson, Denver, UMass Lowell, Princeton, Western Michigan, Wisconsin and Yale.
With such a high level of competition, the WJAC can be a launching point for future stars. Massachusetts freshman and Colorado Avalanche first-round draft pick Cale Makar (Calgary, Alta./Brooks-AJHL/COL) made a big impression in the 2016 WJAC. Joining Makar on the all-tournament team were current Northeastern goaltender Cayden Primeau (Voorhees, N.J./Lincoln-USHL/MTL) and Minnesota Duluth forward Nick Swaney (Lakeville, Minn./Waterloo-USHL/MIN).
The schedule features two preliminary-round games for each team, followed by quarterfinals on Wednesday and semifinals on Thursday. The gold medal game is set for Saturday, Dec. 16.
| Canada East | ||||
| No. | Name | Pos. | Current Team | NCAA Commitment |
| 1 | Noah Battaglia | G | Milton (OJHL) | |
| 4 | Cade Townend | D | Carleton Place (CCHL) | |
| 5 | Mason Snell | D | Wellington (OJHL) | Penn State |
| 6 | Tim Theocharidis | D | Carleton Place (CCHL) | Bowling Green |
| 7 | Joey Maziarz | D | North York (OJHL) | |
| 8 | Matthew Kellenberger | D | Oakville (OJHL) | Princeton |
| 9 | Nick Campoli | F | North York (OJHL) | Clarkson |
| 10 | Derek Dicaire | F | Valleyfield (LHJQ) | |
| 11 | Connor MacEachern | F | Cobourg (OJHL) | Robert Morris |
| 12 | Mac Lowry | F | Cobourg (OJHL) | |
| 14 | Ben Evans | F | Wellington (OJHL) | |
| 15 | Colin Doyle | F | Wellington (OJHL) | |
| 16 | Zachary Tupker | F | Carleton Place (CCHL) | Cornell |
| 17 | Colton Kalezic | F | Toronto Patriots (OJHL) | |
| 18 | Anthony Romano | F | Aurora (OJHL) | Clarkson |
| 19 | Jack McBain | F | Toronto Jr. Canadiens (OJHL) | Boston College |
| 20 | Francis Thibeault | D | Campbellton (MHL) | |
| 21 | Logan Johnston | F | Edmundston (MHL) | |
| 22 | Jeff Clarke | D | Oakville (OJHL) | St. Lawrence |
| 23 | Finn Evans | F | Ottawa (CCHL) | Princeton |
| 24 | Aidan Girduckis | D | Carleton Place (CCHL) | Robert Morris |
| 31 | Jett Alexander | G | North York (OJHL) | |
Canada West |
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| No. | Name | Pos. | Current Team | NCAA Commitment |
| 1 | Zach Rose | G | Victoria (BCHL) | |
| 2 | Seth Barton | D | Trail (BCHL) | UMass Lowell |
| 3 | Jarrod Gourley | D | Spruce Grove (AJHL) | Arizona State |
| 4 | Jacob Bernard-Docker | D | Okotoks (AJHL) | North Dakota |
| 6 | Jonny Tychonick | D | Penticton (BCHL) | North Dakota |
| 7 | T.J. Lloyd | D | Spruce Grove (AJHL) | |
| 8 | Levi Kleiboer | D | Battlefords (SJHL) | Maine |
| 9 | Angus Crookshank | F | Langley (BCHL) | New Hampshire |
| 10 | Ethan de Jong | F | Prince George (BCHL) | Quinnipiac |
| 11 | Brendan Budy | F | Langley (BCHL) | Denver |
| 12 | Harrison Blaisdell | F | Chilliwack (BCHL) | North Dakota |
| 14 | Riese Gaber | F | Steinbach (MJHL) | Western Michigan |
| 15 | Rylan Van Unen | F | Merritt (BCHL) | |
| 16 | Dylan Holloway | F | Okotoks (AJHL) | Wisconsin |
| 17 | Brett Stapley | F | Vernon (BCHL) | Denver |
| 18 | Carter Turnbull | F | Powell River (BCHL) | Connecticut |
| 19 | Corey Andonovski | F | Chilliwack (BCHL) | Princeton |
| 20 | Ross Armour | F | Trail (BCHL) | Bemidji State |
| 22 | Chrystopher Collin | F | Flin Flon (SJHL) | |
| 23 | Kyle Johnson | F | Prince George (BCHL) | Yale |
| 24 | Ryan O’Connell | D | Penticton (BCHL) | Boston University |
| 31 | Mitch Adamyk | G | Powell River (BCHL) | |
United States |
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| No. | Name | Pos. | Current Team | NCAA Commitment |
| 1 | Jake Kucharski | G | Des Moines (USHL) | Providence |
| 2 | Christian Krygier | D | Lincoln (USHL) | Wisconsin |
| 5 | Chase Blackmun | D | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | UMass Lowell |
| 6 | Jack St. Ivany | D | Sioux Falls (USHL) | Yale |
| 7 | Graham Lillibridge | D | Chicago (USHL) | Yale |
| 8 | Clayton Phillips | D | Muskegon (USHL) | Minnesota |
| 9 | Jack Drury | F | Waterloo (USHL) | Harvard |
| 10 | Tyler Madden | F | Central Illinois (USHL) | Northeastern |
| 11 | Sam Hentges | F | Des Moines (USHL) | St. Cloud State |
| 12 | Jack Dugan | F | Chicago (USHL) | Providence |
| 14 | Nick Perbix | D | Omaha (USHL) | St. Cloud State |
| 15 | Nathan Smith | F | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | Minnesota State |
| 16 | Blake McLaughlin | F | Chicago (USHL) | Minnesota |
| 17 | Paul Cotter | F | Lincoln (USHL) | Western Michigan |
| 18 | Brendan Bushy | D | Dubuque (USHL) | St. Cloud State |
| 19 | Cole Guttman | F | Dubuque (USHL) | Denver |
| 20 | Curtis Hall | F | Youngstown (USHL) | Yale |
| 21 | Alex Steeves | F | Dubuque (USHL) | Notre Dame |
| 22 | Graham Slaggert | F | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | Notre Dame |
| 23 | Nolan Walker | F | Sioux Falls (USHL) | St. Cloud State |
| 24 | Jack Randl | F | Omaha (USHL) | Michigan |
| 30 | Ryan Bischel | G | Fargo (USHL) | Clarkson |