A total of 28 players, including seven members of the gold medal-winning 2017 U.S. National Junior Team, have been named to the preliminary roster for the 2018 U.S. National Junior Team.
The announcement was made Tuesday by USA Hockey on NHL Network’s “NHL Now.”
The group is auditioning for a spot on the final 23-man roster that will represent the United States in the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship from Dec. 26, 2017-Jan. 5, 2018, in Buffalo.
Of the 28 players named, 24 are current NCAA players and one (Boston University’s Kieffer Bellows, now with WHL’s Portland Winterhawks) is a former college player.
| Player's Name | Position | School |
|---|---|---|
| Jake Oettinger | G | Boston University |
| Jeremy Swayman | G | Maine |
| Joseph Woll | G | Boston College |
| Mikey Anderson | D | Minnesota Duluth |
| Adam Fox | D | Harvard |
| Quinn Hughes | D | Michigan |
| Cole Hults | D | Penn State |
| Phil Kemp | D | Yale |
| Ryan Lindgren | D | Minnesota |
| Andrew Peeke | D | Notre Dame |
| Scott Perunovich | D | Minnesota Duluth |
| Dylan Samberg | D | Minnesota Duluth |
| Reilly Walsh | D | Harvard |
| Joey Anderson | F | Minnesota Duluth |
| Jack Badini | F | Harvard |
| Trent Frederic | F | Wisconsin |
| Patrick Harper | F | Boston University |
| Will Lockwood | F | Michigan |
| Hugh McGing | F | Western Michigan |
| Casey Mittelstadt | F | Minnesota |
| Josh Norris | F | Michigan |
| Ryan Poehling | F | St. Cloud State |
| Brady Tkachuk | F | Boston University |
| Riley Tufte | F | Minnesota Duluth |
The final 23-man roster is expected to be named by Dec. 23
Bob Motzko (St. Cloud State), who guided Team USA to its fourth-ever gold medal at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship in Montreal and Toronto, is returning as head coach for the 2018 U.S. National Junior Team. He is joined behind the bench by assistant coaches Greg Brown (Boston College), Grant Potulny (Northern Michigan), Kris Mayotte (Providence) and Steve Miller (Ohio State), all of whom were part of his gold medal-winning staff a year ago.
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.
