| Team features 15 returnees from last season’s roster |
| COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey announced today the 17-player roster for the 2021 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team that will compete at the 2021 Para Ice Hockey World Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic. The group features 15 returnees from last season and every member of this year’s roster has at least one season of experience skating with the national team. “We have a really strong group of veteran players on the roster this year,” said Dan Brennan, director of sled national teams for USA Hockey and general manager of the 2021 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team. “All of these guys have seen what it’s like to compete at the highest level, which speaks to the depth of our player pool. “After such a challenging year, it is exciting to get everyone back together and we are eager to continue training for the world championship in June.” Highlighting the returnees from last season’s roster are forwards Declan Farmer (Tampa, Fla.) and Brody Roybal (Northlake, Ill.); defensemen Josh Pauls (Green Brook, N.J.) and Jack Wallace (Franklin Lakes, N.J.); and goaltenders Steve Cash (Overland, Mo.) and Jen Lee (San Francisco, Calif.). Pauls will serve as team captain for the fourth-consecutive season, while Farmer and forward Rico Roman (Portland, Ore.) will serve as alternate captains. Farmer is serving as an alternate captain for the fourth-straight season, while Roman’s is wearing an ‘A’ for the third-straight campaign. A total of 12 players on this year’s roster have been a part of a gold medal-winning U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team. Leading the way are Cash and Pauls, who have been a part of all three U.S. teams (2010, 2014, 2018) that have claimed an unprecedented three-straight Paralympic gold medals. Joining the pair are four two-time Paralympic gold medalists (2014, 2018) in Farmer, Kevin McKee (Chicago, Ill.), Roman and Roybal.Forwards Josh Misiewicz (La Grange, Ill.) and Kyle Zych (South Hadley, Mass.) both rejoin the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team this season. Most recently, Misiewicz helped Team USA capture gold at the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, while Zych helped the U.S. bring home gold at the 2019 Para Ice Hockey World Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic. NOTES: David Hoff (Bottineau, N.D.) enters his third season as the head coach of the 2021 U.S. National Sled Hockey Team … Hoff will be joined by assistant coach Corey Gorder (Bottineau, N.D.), athletic trainer Mike Cortese (Boynton Beach, Fla.), equipment manager Joel Isaacson (Houghton, Mich.) and team physician Mike Uihlein (Grafton, Wis.), all four of which were part of Team USA’s 2019-20 staff … For more information on USA Hockey’s disabled hockey disciplines, click here. |
