Six Minnesotans were named to the U.S. under-18 select team that will compete in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Hockey Tournament in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in August.
On the 22-player roster are forwards Garrett Wait of Edina, Casey Mittelstadt of Eden Prairie and Riley Tufte of Blaine; defensemen Sam Rossini of Burnsville and Scott Perunovich of Hibbing; and goalie Dayton Rasmussen of Eden Prairie.
Four of the Minnesotans played high school hockey last season. Rossini was with Waterloo of the U.S. Hockey League and Rasmussen, a former Holy Family standout, played junior hockey in Colorado.
Wait, Rossini and Mittelstadt have committed to the Gophers; Perunovich and Tufte to Minnesota Duluth; and Rasmussen to Denver.
The players were chosen after a development camp that ended Thursday in Williamsville, N.Y.
Derek Plante, who last month stepped down after five seasons as an assistant coach at UMD, will be the team's head coach. The tournament runs Aug. 10-15 in Breclav, Czech Republic, and Piestany, Slovakia.
