USA Hockey has announced 13 players have been cut from its roster at the 2018 World Junior Summer Showcase in Kamloops, British Columbia. Among those released were five players with ties to New England: Boston University forward Jake Wise (North Andover, Mass.), BU defenseman David Farrance, Boston College forward Logan Hutsko, University of New Hampshire...
USA Hockey has announced 13 players have been cut from its roster at the 2018 World Junior Summer Showcase in Kamloops, British Columbia.
Among those released were five players with ties to New England: Boston University forward Jake Wise (North Andover, Mass.), BU defenseman David Farrance, Boston College forward Logan Hutsko, University of New Hampshire defenseman Max Gildon and Yale forward Curtis Hall.
The move was expected after the conclusion of split-squad games. The U.S. plays its final games starting Thursday, with Finland, Sweden, and Canada left on the docket.
Seven New England natives remain on the 29-man roster for the final three days of the WJSS, headlined by Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.) and Jay O'Brien (Hingham, Mass.), each first-round picks at the 2018 NHL Draft.
Earlier this week, Wahlstrom solidified his plans to enroll at Boston College and play the 2018-19 season for the Eagles after being selected 11th overall by the New York Islanders out of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. O'Brien is part of arguably the best freshman class in Providence College history. The former standout center at Thayer Academy was taken 19th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Other New Englanders left in camp are goaltenders Spencer Knight (New Canaan, Conn.) and Keith Petruzzelli (Wilbraham, Mass.). Knight is going into his final season with the NTDP, while Petruzzelli, a Detroit Red Wings' prospect, is a rising sophomore at Quinnipiac.
Three local defensemen – Yale's Phil Kemp (Greenwich, Conn.), PC's Ben Mirageas (Newburyport, Mass.), and Harvard's Reilly Walsh (North Falmouth, Mass.) – are left among the nine defensemen.
Five players from outside of New England who play in the region are still at the camp. This roster will help decide the U.S. squad for the 2019 World Junior Championship, held this coming December and January in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Boston University forward Brady Tkachuk, the fourth overall pick of the Ottawa Senators, headlines the list of players in this category. In addition, BU forwards Joel Farabee, a first-round pick of the Flyers, and Logan Cockerill, an Islanders prospect, remain part of the U.S. contingent.
Northeastern sophomore Cayden Primeau, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, and Boston Bruins prospect Kyle Keyser of the Oshawa Generals round out the group of four goaltenders.
The U.S. National Junior Team, in search of its third straight medal, is coached by Minnesota State bench boss Mike Hastings. Two of his four assistants are from New England: Northeastern associate head coach Jerry Keefe (Billerica, Mass.) and Dartmouth assistant coach David Lassonde (Durham, N.H.).
