COLUMBUS, Ohio – Forward Joey Anderson (Roseville, Minn./University of Minnesota Duluth) has been named captain of the 2018 U.S. National Junior Team it was announced today by USA Hockey.
“Joey has been among the leaders of this group since this summer and we couldn’t be happier than to have him leading this locker room,” said Bob Motzko, head coach of the 2018 U.S. National Junior Team. “We have a strong leadership group and will announce our alternate captains in time, but in putting our mission together, every mission needs a leader and we’re excited to have Joey take that step forward.”
A member of last year’s gold medal-winning U.S. National Junior Team in Montreal and Toronto, Canada, Anderson was an alternate captain for the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team that claimed a bronze medal at the 2016 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Men’s World Championship in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Anderson, who is in his sophomore campaign with the University of Minnesota Duluth’s men’s ice hockey team, was drafted in the third round, 73rd overall, by the New Jersey Devils after skating two seasons with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan.
To watch Coach Motzko name Anderson captain, click here.
NOTES: For a complete list of U.S. National Junior Team captains, click here … USA Hockey will announce the final roster for the 2018 U.S. National Junior Team by Dec. 23 … Team USA’s camp in Columbus will continue tomorrow (Dec. 18) and Tuesday (Dec. 19) with practices at Nationwide Arena before culminating in an exhibition game against Belarus at Northwest Arena in Jamestown, New York on Dec. 20 … The U.S. will then train in Jamestown from Dec. 20-22 and conclude with a game against Sweden at the Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pa. on Dec. 22 … Both exhibition games are set for 7 p.m. ET puck drops and tickets are on sale now here … Bob Motzko (St. Cloud, Minn.), who guided Team USA to its fourth-ever gold medal at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship in Montreal and Toronto, Canada, is returning as head coach for the 2018 U.S. National Junior Team. He is joined behind the bench by assistant coaches Greg Brown (Scituate, Mass.), Grant Potulny (Minneapolis, Minn.), Kris Mayotte (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Steve Miller (Littleton, Colo.), all of whom were part of his gold medal-winning staff a year ago … 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 … NHL Network is the official U.S. broadcaster of the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, which will take place in Buffalo, New York, Dec. 26, 2017 – Jan. 5, 2018, and include the first ever outdoor game in tournament play when the United States takes on Canada at New Era Field on Dec. 29, 2017… Team USA will play its preliminary-round games against Denmark, Slovakia, Canada and Finland. Quarterfinals will be split between the KeyBank Center and HarborCenter. The semifinal and medal games will be played at the KeyBank Center
