Three current or future Gophers will be headed to Duluth in two weeks with designs on representing their country in the forthcoming World Junior Hockey Championship.
On Monday, USA Hockey named 28 players to the preliminary roster for the U.S. National Junior Team, which is seeking a third consecutive gold medal when the world’s best young players hit the ice in St. Paul and Minneapolis Dec. 26-Jan. 2.
Current Gopher forwards Brody Ziemer and L.J. Mooney, and future Gophers forward Jacob Kvasnicka were invited to the team’s final training camp, during which Gophers head coach Bob Motzko and his Team USA staff will cut the roster down to 25 players.
Ziemer, a sophomore from Chaska, skated for Team USA last winter when they won the world title in Ottawa, Ontario. He is currently tied for the Gophers’ lead with eight goals.
Mooney, a Gophers freshman, is from suburban Pittsburgh and is leading the team in assists with nine. He is the cousin of former Gophers star and current Utah Mammoth standout Logan Cooley.
Kvasnicka, who is from Wayzata, is spending this season playing Canadian major junior hockey in British Columbia and is expected to start his college career next season.
The team’s training camp will be held Dec. 15-23 in Duluth, with the final roster expected to be announced Dec. 24.
Other Minnesotans selected to the preliminary roster include: goalie Caleb Heil (Victoria) committed to North Dakota; defenseman Logan Hensler (Woodbury), a sophomore at Wisconsin; defenseman Adam Kleber (Chaska), a sophomore at UMD; forward Brendan McMorrow (Lakeville), a freshman at Denver; goalie A.J. Reyelts (Proctor), committed to UMD; and forward Max Plante (Hermantown), a sophomore at UMD and won a gold medal with Team USA last year.
The Americans’ opening game of the tournament is Dec. 26 at 5 p.m. versus Germany at Grand Casino Arena.
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