Photo by: Greg Anderson
Kunin named to Team USA World Juniors roster
December 05, 2016 | Men's Hockey
Badger captain invited to camp for one of the world's best annual tournaments in any sport
Wisconsin World Junior Championship History
MADISON, Wis. -- Team USA has released its 27-man preliminary roster for the upcoming World Junior Championships in Montreal and Toronto from Dec. 26- Jan. 5, and for the first time since 2014 there will be a familiar face playing for the Stars and Stripes.
Sophomore forward and Wisconsin captain Luke Kunin has been picked to join some of the best young American players in preparation for the competition, a tournament the United States has won three times, most recently in 2013.
Kunin owns experience at the international level, scoring six goals in seven games and captaining the team to help the United States win the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championship with Don Granato as the head coach.
This season, Kunin leads the Badgers with nine goals and ranks second on the team with 14 points in 14 games played. He led the Badgers as a freshman last season with 19 goals.
Historically, the Badgers have had strong representation in the tournament, with Kunin potentially becoming the 52nd player from UW to play in the World Juniors since the competition officially began in 1977. Forty-five players have come from the United States, five from Canada, one from Sweden and one from what was then the Soviet Union.
Kunin's participation marks the first time since 2014 in which a UW skater will participate in the tournament, with Nic Kerdiles skating for the U.S. team that lost in the quarterfinals. However, a past or present Badger has been involved with every tournament as a player, coach or administrator except one since 1978.
In 2015, Mark Osiecki was the head coach while Don Granato was his assistant.
Head coach Tony Granato played in the tournament in 1983 and 1984.
Wisconsin has had five players all-time who have served as Team USA's captain. Jake McCabe was the captain for the gold medal winning team in 2013, John Ramage won bronze in 2011 and Derek Stepan claimed gold in 2010. Ryan Suter served as captain in 2005 where the United States finished fourth and Barry Richter was the maestro in 1990 where the U.S. finished seventh.
Also, former Badger Jim Johannson will serve as the team's general manager this year for at least the eighth time. USA Hockey's assistant executive director of hockey operations has played an administrative role with the team since 2002.
The players will attend training camp Dec. 16-20 at HarborCenter in Buffalo, New York, followed by an additional camp in Oshawa, Ontario, from Dec. 20-24. The U.S. will play pre-tournament games Dec. 21 against Switzerland at the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa, Ontario, and Dec. 23 against the Czech Republic at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario.
The roster will be cut down to 23 before the event begins. The final team is expected to be named by Dec. 24.
The United States will open up group play against Latvia on Dec. 26 at 2:30 p.m. CT at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, where they will play all of their group games. The rest of the five-team group consists of Canada, Russia and Slovakia.
All of Team USA's games will be shown live on NHL Network, with a total of 23 contests from the tournament airing.
MADISON, Wis. -- Team USA has released its 27-man preliminary roster for the upcoming World Junior Championships in Montreal and Toronto from Dec. 26- Jan. 5, and for the first time since 2014 there will be a familiar face playing for the Stars and Stripes.
Sophomore forward and Wisconsin captain Luke Kunin has been picked to join some of the best young American players in preparation for the competition, a tournament the United States has won three times, most recently in 2013.
Kunin owns experience at the international level, scoring six goals in seven games and captaining the team to help the United States win the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championship with Don Granato as the head coach.
This season, Kunin leads the Badgers with nine goals and ranks second on the team with 14 points in 14 games played. He led the Badgers as a freshman last season with 19 goals.
Historically, the Badgers have had strong representation in the tournament, with Kunin potentially becoming the 52nd player from UW to play in the World Juniors since the competition officially began in 1977. Forty-five players have come from the United States, five from Canada, one from Sweden and one from what was then the Soviet Union.
Kunin's participation marks the first time since 2014 in which a UW skater will participate in the tournament, with Nic Kerdiles skating for the U.S. team that lost in the quarterfinals. However, a past or present Badger has been involved with every tournament as a player, coach or administrator except one since 1978.
In 2015, Mark Osiecki was the head coach while Don Granato was his assistant.
Head coach Tony Granato played in the tournament in 1983 and 1984.
Wisconsin has had five players all-time who have served as Team USA's captain. Jake McCabe was the captain for the gold medal winning team in 2013, John Ramage won bronze in 2011 and Derek Stepan claimed gold in 2010. Ryan Suter served as captain in 2005 where the United States finished fourth and Barry Richter was the maestro in 1990 where the U.S. finished seventh.
Also, former Badger Jim Johannson will serve as the team's general manager this year for at least the eighth time. USA Hockey's assistant executive director of hockey operations has played an administrative role with the team since 2002.
The players will attend training camp Dec. 16-20 at HarborCenter in Buffalo, New York, followed by an additional camp in Oshawa, Ontario, from Dec. 20-24. The U.S. will play pre-tournament games Dec. 21 against Switzerland at the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa, Ontario, and Dec. 23 against the Czech Republic at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario.
The roster will be cut down to 23 before the event begins. The final team is expected to be named by Dec. 24.
The United States will open up group play against Latvia on Dec. 26 at 2:30 p.m. CT at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, where they will play all of their group games. The rest of the five-team group consists of Canada, Russia and Slovakia.
All of Team USA's games will be shown live on NHL Network, with a total of 23 contests from the tournament airing.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's HockeyWisconsin Men's Hockey || All Access || Episode 2
Tuesday, November 11
Minnesota Cinematic Highlights
Monday, November 03
Kohl Center Atmosphere
Sunday, November 02
Quinn Finley Highlight
Sunday, November 02
