Chicago Blackhawks prospects Evan Barratt and Chad Krys will play for the United States during the 2017 World Junior Summer Showcase next week in Plymouth, Michigan.
The event will take place July 28-Aug. 5 at USA Hockey Arena and features practices and games against Canada, Finland and Sweden. It’s the initial step in selecting teams for the upcoming World Junior Championship, which will be Dec. 26-Jan. 5, 2018 in Buffalo and Orchard Park, New York. Team USA won this year’s tournament in January by defeating rival Canada 5-4 in a shootout at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Barratt is a new name to the Hawks’ prospect pool after being drafted No. 90 overall in the third round at last month’s draft. The 5-foot-11, 188-pound center scored 56 points in 63 games with the U.S. national development program. The Penn State commit also recorded nine goals and 15 assists in 26 USHL games.
Krys, the Hawks’ second-round selection (45th overall) in the 2016 NHL draft, is gearing up for his sophomore season at Boston University. As a freshman, the defenseman had five goals and six assists in 39 games for the Terriers.
BU head coach David Quinn is projecting Krys to have a breakout season.
“The jump to college hockey’s big, and he’s feeling his way through it. He had a good first half but a better second half,” Quinn told Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago. “There’s no reason he shouldn’t be one of the better defensemen in all of college hockey.”
Team USA’s roster will be split into two different squads before trimming its roster to one team Aug. 2. Barratt is on the USA White roster while Krys will suit up for the USA Blue team.
#TeamUSA Blue & White rosters announced for the 2017 World Junior Summer Showcase at @USAHockeyArena: https://t.co/ua9LwTarve #WJSS pic.twitter.com/Yo1CSIviph
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) July 18, 2017