The World Juniors are still several months away, but we’ll get a look at those players vying for spots this weekend at the 2018 World Junior Summer Showcase. The tournament begins on Saturday in Kamloops, British Columbia and runs through August 4th, pitting teams from around the world against each other as a warm up for the winter tournament. USA Hockey will submit two teams as usual, and today announced the rosters for each along with the coaching staffs.
Team Blue will be led by Scott Sandelin and Chris Clark, who currently work for the University of Minnesota-Duluth and Columbus Blue Jackets respectively. Their roster will feature some exceptional talents including returning names like Brady Tkachuk and Dylan Samberg. The full Blue roster is as follows:
F Evan Barratt (CHI, 90th overall, 2017)
F Sasha Chmelevski (SJS, 185th overall, 2017)
F Logan Cockerill (NYI, 201st overall, 2017)
F Paul Cotter (VGK, 115th overall, 2018)
F Sean Dhooghe (undrafted)
F Jon Gruden (OTT, 95th overall, 2018)
F Logan Hutsko (FLA, 89th overall, 2018)
F Brandon Kruse (VGK, 135th overall, 2018)
F Jacob McGrew (SJS, 159th overall, 2017)
F Ryan Poehling (MTL, 25th overall, 2017)
F Brady Tkachuk (OTT, 4th overall, 2018)
F Jake Wise (CHI, 69th overall, 2018)
D Josh Ess (CHI, 215th overall, 2017)
D David Farrance (NSH, 92nd overall, 2017)
D K’Andre Miller (NYR, 22nd overall, 2018)
D Tommy Miller (undrafted)
D Alec Regula (DET, 67th overall, 2018)
D Dylan Samberg (WPG, 43rd overall, 2017)
D Reilly Walsh (NJD, 81st overall, 2017)
G Kyle Keyser (BOS, free agent)
G Keith Petruzzelli (DET, 88th overall 2017)
Team White will be led by Steve Miller and Pat Mikesch, who currently work with Ohio State University and the Green Bay Gamblers respectively. Their club may be even more exciting as it includes potential 2019 first overall pick Jack Hughes along with his brother Quinn Hughes and plenty of other high-end talents. The full roster is as follows:
F Noah Cates (PHI, 137th overall, 2017)
F Cole Coskey (undrafted)
F Jack Drury (CAR, 42nd overall, 2018)
F Joel Farabee (PHI, 14th overall, 2018)
F Curtis Hall (BOS, 119th overall, 2018)
F Jack Hughes (2019 eligible)
F Ivan Lodnia (MIN, 85th overall, 2017)
F Grant Mismash (NSH, 61st overall, 2017)
F Josh Norris (SJS, 19th overall, 2017)
F Jay O’Brien (PHI, 19th overall, 2018)
F Jason Robertson (DAL, 39th overall, 2017)
F Oliver Wahlstrom (NYI, 11th overall, 2018)
D Matt Anderson (undrafted)
D Mikey Anderson (LAK, 103rd overall, 2017)
D Quinn Hughes (VAN, 7th overall, 2018)
D Joey Keane (NYR, 88th overall, 2018)
D Phil Kemp (EDM, 208th overall, 2017)
D Ben Mirageas (NYI, 77th overall, 2017)
D Mattias Samuelsson (BUF, 32nd overall, 2018)
G Spencer Knight (2019 eligible)
G Cayden Primeau (MTL, 199th overall, 2017)
Side note, but I really want to see a team take a chance on Sean Dhooghe. I just want to see what he’d look like on the ice