U.S. national junior team preliminary roster boasts slew of current, future NCAA talent

USA Hockey on Tuesday named 30 players to the preliminary roster for the 2015 U.S. National Junior Team that will compete at the IIHF World Junior Championship Dec. 26, 2014 to Jan. 5, 2015 in Montreal and Toronto.

The final U.S. roster will be named by Dec. 24.

“We’re excited about the group of players that we’re bringing to our camp in Boston,” said U.S. National Junior Team general manager and assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey Jim Johannson in a news release. “The depth of our talent pool continues to make our job more difficult in getting to a camp roster and ultimately the final roster, and that’s really a credit to the great job done at the grassroots level by coaches all across the country.”

Seven camp invitees (six NCAA players) were members of the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team, including forwards Jack Eichel (Boston University), Adam Erne (QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts) and Hudson Fasching (Minnesota), defensemen Will Butcher (Denver), Ian McCoshen (Boston College) and Steve Santini (Boston College) and goaltender Thatcher Demko (Boston College).

The preliminary roster includes 18 current college players and two committed players, in addition to uncommitted forward Auston Matthews, who has publicly stated he has his college choices narrowed down to five – BC, BU, North Dakota, Michigan and Denver.