AMHERST, Mass. – The roster for the 2016 U.S. National Junior Team has been trimmed to 24 players. The U.S. National Junior Team will travel to Finland tomorrow and continue its training camp in Vierumaki, Finland, Dec. 20-24.
“Head coach Ron Wilson has brought a high level of intensity to camp and as a staff we have been very pleased with the attitude shown by the players,” said Jim Johannson, general manager of the 2016 U.S. National Junior Team and also the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. “As our players keep melding together our staff will continue evaluating which players fit best into the framework and style of play our coaching staff expects us to have for this tournament.”
The 27-player U.S. preliminary roster was trimmed with forward Kieffer Bellows (Edina, Minn./U.S. National Under-18 Team), defenseman Casey Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass./Boston College); and goaltender Tyler Parsons (Chesterfield, Mich./London Knights) being released. An updated 24-player roster can be found here.
Team USA will travel to Finland and continue its training camp in Vierumaki, Finland, Dec. 20-24. The U.S. will face Finland in an exhibition game on Dec. 22 at Isku Arena in Lahti, Finland.
NOTES: Luke Opilka (St. Louis, Mo./Kitchener Rangers) was unable to join the U.S. National Junior Team due to illness … Last night, the U.S. National Junior Team defeated UMass, 4-0. For a full game recap, click here … USA Hockey will announce the final roster for the 2016 U.S. National Junior Team by Dec. 24 … Use the hashtag #USAWJC on Twitter to join the conversation about the 2016 U.S. National Junior Team … Ron Wilson (Riverside, R.I.) is head coach of the 2016 U.S. National Junior Team. Wilson, who directed the U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey team to the silver medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, ranks eighth all-time in National Hockey League history in wins, and is the all-time winningest American coach in NHL history … The assistant coaches for Team USA are Chris Chelios (Chicago, Ill./Detroit Red Wings), Danton Cole (Pontiac, Mich./USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program) and Kevin Reiter (Pittsburgh, Pa./USA’s Hockey’s NTDP) … Nick Siergiej (South Bend, Ind./University of Notre Dame) is the video coordinator … Jim Johannson (Colorado Springs, Colo.), USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey operations, is serving as the general manager of Team USA for the seventh consecutive year … Ryan Martin (Simsbury, Conn./Detroit Red Wings) and Ben Smith (Gloucester, Mass./USA Hockey) assisted with player evaluation during the Boston training camp … USA Hockey’s international council, chaired by Gavin Regan (Potsdam, N.Y.), vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams … At the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship, the U.S. will compete in a group with Canada, Denmark, Switzerland and Sweden. All U.S. games will be broadcast live on NHL Network. For more information about the tournament, please click here.
