COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey announced the 21-man roster for its 2015 U.S. Men’s Select Team that will compete at the Deutschland Cup from Nov. 6-8 in Augsburg, Germany.
All 21 players on the roster are currently participating in European elite leagues in Finland, Germany, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland.
Highlighting Team USA are 11 players who have represented the U.S. at one or more International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships, including eight players who have combined to win 11 IIHF medals. Those medalists are Mike Brennan (Smithtown, N.Y./Sport Vaasa), Bobby Butler (Marlborough, Mass./Modo), Cade Fairchild (Duluth, Minn./Metallurg Novokuznetsk), Cal Heeter (St. Louis, Mo./Hamburg Freezers), Sam Lofquist (Somerset, Wis./SaiPa Lappeenranta), Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz./Zurich Lions), Tim Stapleton (La Grange, Ill./EHC Biel-Bienne) and Ryan Stoa (Bloomington, Minn./Metallurg Novokuznetsk). Matt Gilroy (North Bellmore, N.Y./Sparak Moscow), Blake Kessel (Madison, Wis./Tampereen Ilves) and Jim Slater (Lapeer, Mich./Geneve Servette) have also represented the U.S. on the IIHF stage.
Also included on the roster are six alumni of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, including Brennan, Fairchild, Chad Kolarik (Abington, Pa./Kloten Flyers), Lofquist, Matthews and Stoa.
Additionally, three players — Stapleton, Kolarik and Ryan Zapolski (Erie, Pa./Lukko Rauma) — skated for the U.S. Men’s Select Team that won the 2013 Deutschland Cup. Stapleton also competed at the 2007 Deutschland Cup.
Notes: All total, 12 players on the 2015 U.S. Men’s Select Team have NHL experience, while five more spent time in the American Hockey League … For more information on the U.S. Men’s Select Team that will compete at the 2015 Deutschland Cup, including game schedule, click here … USA Hockey’s international council, chaired by Gavin Regan (Potsdam, N.Y.), vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. teams that compete internationally.
