The 2017 World Junior Championships will feature talent aplenty of the Boston University variety.
Seven members of the Terriers’ men’s hockey team will play in late December and early January’s collection of the world’s best junior hockey talent, which will take place in Montreal and Toronto. Team Canada will feature freshman defenseman Dante Fabbro, while Team USA boasts freshman goaltender Jake Oettinger, sophomore defenseman Charlie McAvoy, sophomore forward Jordan Greenway and freshmen forwards Patrick Harper, Kieffer Bellows and Clayton Keller.
Freshman defenseman Chad Krys, who played in 2016’s World Junior tournament, was the last cut for Team USA. McAvoy also made last year’s competition, which was held in Finland, and will serve as an alternate captain for the 2017 group.
These seven members of head coach David Quinn’s squad have long featured for their respective national teams, with Keller arguably being the most notable. The former member of the U.S. National Team Development Program broke the career record for points with 189 on 71 goals and 118 assists. In a similar vein, Bellows’ 50 goals led the U.S. National Under-18 Team in 2015-16.
Oettinger, in also playing for the NTDP last year, posted a 2.38 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. As for the sophomore contingent, McAvoy and Greenway both claimed a gold medal at the 2015 IIHF Under-18 World Championships. Harper has the least national team experience, as he had a brief stint with the U.S. National Under-17 Team in 2014-15. Lastly, Fabbro starred for Team Canada at the 2016 IIHF U18 World Championship.
All that talent will first be on display when the tournament opens on Dec. 26. It will wrap up on Jan. 5 with medal games.
Here is Team USA’s schedule for the tournament’s group stage:
Dec. 26 vs. Latvia; 3:30 p.m. at the Air Canada Centre
Dec. 28 vs. Slovakia; 7:30 p.m. at the Air Canada Centre
Dec. 29 vs. Russia; 3:30 p.m. at the Air Canada Centre
Dec. 31 vs. Canada; 3:30 p.m. at the Air Canada Centre
Here is Team Canada’s schedule for the tournament’s group stage:
Dec. 26 vs. Russia; 8 p.m. at the Air Canada Centre
Dec. 28 vs. Latvia; 8 p.m. at the Air Canada Centre
Dec. 29 vs. Slovakia; 8 p.m. at the Air Canada Centre
Dec. 31 vs. USA; 3:30 p.m. at the Air Canada Centre
Click here for Team USA’s full roster, and here for Team Canada’s full roster.