Five New Englanders make U.S. National Junior Team Preliminary Roster

Spencer Knight of Darien, Conn., is committed to Boston College. (Rena Laverty)

2019 IIHF World Junior Championship in Vancouver, and Victoria, British Columbia from Dec. 26-Jan. 5.

Five New England natives were named to the preliminary roster that will be trimmed down at a pre-tournament camp in Everett, Washington.

Providence College freshman defenseman Michael Callahan (Franklin, Mass.), Yale sophomore defenseman Phil Kemp (Greenwich, Conn.), U.S. NTDP U-18 goaltender Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.), Providence College freshman center Jay O’Brien (Hingham, Mass.), and Boston College freshman right wing Oliver Wahlstrom (Falmouth, Maine) were the five New England natives to make the preliminary roster.

Callahan has a goal and four assists in 15 games for the Friars so far this season. A former Roxbury Latin and Cape Cod Whalers star, Callahan spent a year in the USHL with Central Illinois Flying Aces and Youngstown Phantoms before matriculating to Providence. He was a fifth round pick, 142nd overall, by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2018 NHL Draft.

Kemp played two seasons with Brunswick School and two seasons with the NTDP before joining Yale for the 2017-18 season. A seventh round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2017 NHL Draft, Kemp has an assist in nine games with the Bulldogs this season. He’s best known for his size and ability to be a shutdown defender.