A pair of Gophers will join coach Don Lucia at the U.S. National Junior Team training camp next weekend at Mariucci Arena.
Sophomore defenseman Brady Skjei and freshman forward Hudson Fasching were among the 26 players named to the preliminary roster on Wednesday. Lucia is this year's National Junior Team head coach.
The two Gophers are the only Minnesotans on the roster. Illinois leads the way with five players, Massachusetts has four, six states have two representatives, and five states have one.
"It's a really big honor. It's a team I've always wanted to play on. I came up a little short last year, so hopefully this year I can make a little difference and it should be a fun tournament if I make it," Skjei said. "There's definitely a little chip on my shoulder from last year, but I still haven't made the team this year yet, so I still gotta keep working and see what happens."
Lucia thought Fasching and Skjei put themselves in good position to earn a roster spot coming out of last summer's evaluation camp. Since then, the pair has done even more to prove themselves worthy.
Fasching has played on the Gophers' first line since opening day and is the team's third-best scorer with 14 points (six goals, eight assists). Skjei has been among the Gophers top defenseman and played a regular role on special teams. He has two goals and two assists.
Four Gophers and six Minnesotans attended the National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., over the summer. However, Gophers forward Taylor Cammarata and defenseman Michael Brodzinski were informed by Lucia this week that they did not make the cut.
Fellow Minnesotans, Dominic Toninato (Minnesota-Duluth) and Jake Guentzel (Nebraska-Omaha), were also cut. Guentzel is the son of Gophers associate coach head coach Mike Guentzel.
