Miami sophomore forward Riley Barber has been named captain of the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team.
[scg_html_wjc2014]The alternate captains are Michigan sophomore forward Andrew Copp and Boston University sophomore defenseman Matt Grzelcyk.
A year ago, Barber helped the U.S. capture the gold medal at the World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia, with three goals and three assists.
Barber, Copp and Grzelcyk were teammates on the Team USA squad that won the gold medal at the 2012 Under-18 World Championship in Brno, Czech Republic.
Team USA also announced Sunday that it has reduced its roster to 24 players by cutting Michigan freshman forward J.T. Compher, Boston College freshman forward Ryan Fitzgerald, New Hampshire defenseman Brett Pesce, Edmonton Oil Kings forward Henrik Samuelsson and Sarnia Sting defenseman Anthony DeAngelo.
One more cut will take place prior to the tournament start on Thursday, Dec. 26.
“We are pleased to have settled on our three goaltenders and seven defensemen for the tournament,” said Jim Johannson, general manager of the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team and also the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, in a statement. “Due to a medical matter, we are still evaluating our forwards and expect to make a final decision by our first game on Dec. 26.”
The U.S. begins defense of its gold medal against the Czech Republic on Thursday (Dec. 26) at 5:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. EST). In the U.S., the game will be televised live on the NHL Network (DirecTV 215, DISH 477) and streamed live on NHL.com.
