Ten players from New England will compete at the 2020 World Junior Summer Showcase for a spot on USA Hockey’s roster at the 2021 World Junior Championship.
The World Junior Summer Showcase takes place July 24 through Aug. 1 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich. The event usually welcomes hopefuls from Canada, Finland and Sweden, but due to the coronavirus, only the U.S. will be represented. The 2021 World Junior Championship is slated for Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta.
Representing New England at the 2020 World Junior Summer Showcase will be six forwards, two defensemen and two goaltenders. In addition to the 10 players native to the region, 11 others with ties to New England will be in attendance at the showcase.
Harvard freshman center Matt Beniers (Hingham, Mass.), Providence freshman left wing Brett Berard (East Greenwich, R.I.), Boston College sophomore left wing Matt Boldy (Millis, Mass.), Northeastern freshman right wing Sam Colangelo (Stoneham, Mass.), Harvard freshman left wing Sean Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Providence sophomore left wing Patrick Moynihan (Millis, Mass.) will be at the camp. Other attendees include Northeastern sophomore defenseman Jayden Struble (Cumberland, R.I.) and Harvard sophomore defenseman Henry Thrun (Southboro, Mass.) and Boston University freshman goaltender Drew Commesso (Norwell, Mass.) and Boston College sophomore goaltender Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.).
Boston Bruins first-round pick John Beecher of the University of Michigan is one of 11 players from outside of New England but with ties to the region who will be at camp. The other forwards are Harvard sophomore John Farinacci, Boston University sophomore Robert Mastrosimone, Boston University freshmen Dylan Peterson and Luke Tuch, and Trevor Zegras, who turned pro after his freshman season with the Terriers. Three BU sophomore defensemen — Domenick Fensore, Case McCarthy and Alex Vlasic — and two BC sophomore defensemen — Drew Helleson and Marshall Warren — also will be at camp.
Projecting USA Hockey's WJC roster
Forwards
The Americans have a good mix of goal scorers and playmakers, as well as a couple of grinders in this group of forwards. I’ve included 14 forwards below because I’d imagine one or both of Alex Turcotte or Zegras will be in the NHL and not allowed to participate. If both aren’t, I’d add Farinacci to this list.
Cole Caufield, Arthur Kaliyev and Colangelo give the U.S. three wings who can put the puck home. Turcotte, Zegras, Boldy and Farrell are legit playmakers. Beniers is a solid center who can go both ways. Berard and Mastrosimone are pesky forwards who play hard. Cross Hanas and Bobby Brink are good two-way forwards who bring winning pedigrees. Beecher and Owen Lindmark are solid guys to build a bottom six around.
John Beecher
Matt Beniers
Brett Berard
Matt Boldy
Bobby Brink
Cole Caufield
Sean Farrell
Cross Hanas
Arthur Kaliyev
Owen Lindmark
Robert Mastrosimone
Nick Robertson
Alex Turcotte
Trevor Zegras
Defensemen
Jake Sanderson is a top-10 pick in the upcoming draft and he should be a centerpiece for this blue line. Cam York is a puck-moving, offensive defenseman, while Vlasic and Tyler Kleven can be towering forces on the back end. Ryan Johnson and Fensore are swift-skating puck-movers. With the final spot, I went with Struble because he’s athletic and brings a little moxie. I could see the Americans going with Skinner, Warren or Thrun as well.
Domenick Fensore
Ryan Johnson
Tyler Kleven
Jake Sanderson
Jayden Struble
Alex Vlasic
Cam York
Goaltenders
The Americans look to be very solid between the pipes. Knight, a finalist for the Richter Award as college hockey’s top goaltender in 2019-20, will be the starter. Dustin Wolf will be a more than capable backup and Commesso will be the emergency third-string goaltender.
Drew Commesso
Spencer Knight
Dustin Wolf
