USA Hockey named Blackhawks prospect Evan Barratt to its preliminary roster for the World Junior Championship on Wednesday.
Barratt, who was drafted by Chicago in the third round in 2017, is tied with Penn State teammate Alex Limoges for the NCAA scoring lead at 25 points. Barratt has 12 goals and 13 assists in 15 games for the Nittany Lions during his sophomore season.
The 6-foot, 187-pound center had a goal and five assists in seven games during Team USA’s gold-medal run at last year’s under-18 World Juniors.
Barratt’s teammate from last year’s U18 World Juniors and fellow Blackhawks prospect Jake Wise did not make the preliminary roster. Wise, a 2018 third-rounder, has only two assists in 12 games for Boston University during his freshman season. Despite missing most of last season with a broken clavicle, Wise scored nine goals and 28 points in only 18 USHL games for the U.S. National Team Development Program.
Four Illinois natives made the Americans’ preliminary roster: defenseman Joey Keane (Chicago/OHL Barrie) and forwards Cole Coskey (Zion/OHL Saginaw), Sean Dhooghe (Aurora/NCAA Wisconsin) and Jack Drury (Winnetka/NCAA Harvard). Drury and Keane are both NHL prospects having been drafted this past June by the Hurricanes and Rangers, respectively. Coskey and Dhooge are both eligible for next year’s NHL draft.
Team USA will host its training camp from Dec. 15-17 in Everett, Washington. After the camp, the U.S. will play two pre-tournament games in British Columbia. The Americans face off against Russia on Dec. 20 at Sandman Centre in Kamloops, and the Czech Republic on Dec. 22 at George Preston Recreation Centre in Langley. Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 9 p.m. Central time.
The U.S. will be in Group B in the preliminary round of the tournament with Finland, Kazakhstan, Slovakia and Sweden. Team USA has medaled in three consecutive in World Juniors, including winning gold in 2017.
The tournament will run from Dec. 26 to Jan. 6 in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia.