AMERICANS’ SARTHOU NAMED TO U.S. UNDER-18’S

KENNEWICK, WA – Tri-City Americans Governor/General Manager Bob Tory, in conjunction with USA Hockey, announced today that 16-year-old goaltender, Evan Sarthou, has been named to the 2014 U.S. U-18 Select Team that will compete at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup Aug. 11-16 in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia.

READ USA HOCKEY’S FULL RELEASE HERE (Including Tournament Schedule)

“We are very proud of Evan,” stated Tory.  “This is a tremendous opportunity for (Evan) to continue to develop against the top competition in the world for his age group.”

Sarthou, a 6’1 170-lb netminder from Black Diamond, WA, just wrapped up his rookie WHL season with the Americans, appearing in 16 games and collecting a 3-8-0-1 record, along with a 4.07 goals against average and a 0.890 save percentage during the 2013-14 season.  A former member of the LA Jr. Kings of the Tier 1 Elite League, Sarthou was a 3rd Round (65th overall) pick by Tri-City in the 2012 Bantam Draft.

Sarthou is the only WHL player, and one of 4 CHL players, that was named to the 22-player team after participating in the Boys’ Select 17 Player Development Camp June 30-July 2 in Williamsville, New York.

Also named to this year’s team are Tri-City College List prospects Robby Jackson and Troy Terry.

The 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament will include teams from Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.  With a second-place showing in 2013, Team USA has finished in the top three of the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup 11 times since the tournament began in 1991.

The Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup is an annual event held each August for national under-18 teams from around the world.  Named for one of the first Czech hockey stars, the tournament began in 1991 as a three-team showcase.  Between 1997 and 2002, the format shifted to the current eight-team tournament. It was then named after Hlinka in 2007, three years after his passing.