COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Forward Kevin Hayes (Dorchester, Mass./New York Rangers/Boston College) and defenseman Brady Skjei (Lakeville, Minn./New York Rangers/University of Minnesota) have been added to the roster of the U.S. Men’s National Team that is competing at 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s World Championship May 5-21 in Cologne, Germany, and Paris, France.
Hayes is representing Team USA for the second time on a U.S. Men’s National Team. He was previously a member of the 2014 U.S. Men’s National Team that competed at the IIHF Men’s World Championship in Minsk, Belarus. He recorded a goal and an assist in eight games.
Hayes has played 234 regular season NHL games over three seasons with the New York Rangers. In 2016-17, he tallied a career-high 49 points (17-32) in 76 games and added another three assists in 12 playoff games. Overall, Hayes has totaled 132 points (44-88) in his NHL career.
Skjei is playing on a U.S. Men’s National Team for the second consecutive year and representing Team USA for the fourth time in IIHF world championship play. He most recently was a member of the 2016 U.S. Men’s National Team that competed in the IIHF Men’s World Championship in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia. Skjei served as an alternate captain for the gold medal-winning U.S. Men’s National Under-18 Team at the 2012 IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship in Brno, Czech Republic. He also was a member of the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team.
In 2016-17, Skjei collected 39 points (5-34) in 80 games in his first full NHL season with the New York Rangers. He also added four goals and an assist in 12 postseason games.
The U.S. Men’s National Team now includes 14 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders. For the complete roster, click here.
Team USA (3-0-0-1; W-OTW-OTL-L) continues play against Latvia on Saturday (May 13) at 6:15 a.m. ET (Live on NHL Network; live stream on NBC Sports app and at NBCSports.com).
NOTES: Jeff Blashill (Detroit Red Wings) is serving as the head coach of the 2017 U.S. Men’s National Team alongside assistant coaches Jack Capuano (Cranston, R.I.), Rand Pecknold(Bedford, N.H.) and Seth Appert (Cottage Grove, Minn.) … The staff and players of the 2017 U.S. Men’s National Team are selected by the U.S. Men’s National Team Advisory Group, led by Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. Other members include Stan Bowman (Chicago Blackhawks), Dean Lombardi (USA Hockey), David Poile (Nashville Predators), Ray Shero (New Jersey Devils), Dale Tallon (Florida Panthers) and Don Waddell (Carolina Hurricanes). In addition, Chris Drury (New York Rangers) and Bill Guerin (Pittsburgh Penguins) are serving as part of the management group for the 2017 U.S. Men’s National Team … For complete coverage of the U.S. Men’s National Team throughout the tournament, visit teamusa.usahockey.com … The official online home of the 2017 IIHF Men’s World Championship is IIHFWorlds2017.com … Both Bill Guerin and Chris Drury are members of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame … The U.S. has finished in the top four of the world championship in three of the last four years, a stretch that has only been equaled once in American history (1931-34) … USA Hockey’s international council, chaired by Gavin Regan (Potsdam, N.Y.), has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams.
