MacInnis and Opilka named to preliminary roster for USA at World Juniors
For Immediate Release by the Canadian Hockey League
Monday December 7, 2015
Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced that 11 CHL players have been named to the preliminary roster for the 2016 U.S. National Junior Team that will compete in the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship December 26 to January 5 in Helsinki, Finland.
A total of 29 players were chosen by USA Hockey to attend training camp including eight players from the Ontario Hockey League and three from the Western Hockey League.
CHL Players:
Goaltenders:
Brandon Halverson (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
Alex Nedeljkovic (Niagara IceDogs)
Luke Opilka (Kitchener Rangers)
Tyler Parsons (London Knights)
Defencemen:
Brandon Carlo (Tri-City Americans)
Forwards:
Paul Bittner (Portland Winterhawks)
Alex DeBrincat (Erie Otters)
Scott Eansor (Seattle Thunderbirds)
Christian Dvorak (London Knights)
Ryan MacInnis (Kitchener Rangers)
Matthew Tkachuk (London Knights)
Carlo, Halverson and Nedeljkovic are three of seven camp invitees who were members of the 2015 U.S. National Junior Team, while Tkachuk and Opilka are among seven invitees who won gold with Team USA at the 2015 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship.
Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Sonny Milano, who spent last season with the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers before graduating to the American Hockey League’s Lake Erie Monsters, was also named to the preliminary roster.
The U.S. National Junior Team Selection Camp will take place from December 14-18 in Boston, MA, before moving to Vierumaki, Finland from December 19-24. The final 23-man roster is expected to be named by December 24.
The U.S. will compete in a group with Canada, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland and opens the preliminary round of the tournament on December 26 against Canada.
