( Above Photo Credit:  Team USA Hockey – Sports Engine )

By: Mark Allred               Follow Me On Twitter @BlackAndGold277

The USA Hockey headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado announced today that the preliminary roster for the 2018 U.S. National Junior team has been released and three Boston Bruins prospects have been added. The 2018 IIHF World Junior  U20 Championships will play its 42nd annual tournament and the second time host Buffalo, New York will house the festivities. The Tournament will go on from December 26, 2017, to January 5, 2017, from three locations which include the HarborCenter, KeyBank Center and an outdoor final at New Era Field at Orchard Park the home of the National Football Leagues Buffalo Bills.

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The ten team tournament will consist of participating countries that are split into two groups. Group “A” with have Canada, Denmark, Finland, Slovakia, and host United States while group “B” will have Belarus, Czech Republic, Russia, Sweden, and Switzerland. Last season the United States won the 2017 tournament with a 5-4 shootout victory over Canada at a sold-out Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.

Below are highlights of the above mentioned 2017 WJC if you missed the action almost a year ago.

Bruins Prospects Added

Trent Frederic – University of Wisconsin

The 6′-2″ 203-pound center hails from St, Louis, Missouri which is starting to become a hotbed for young talent in the mid-west. Selected by the Bruins in the first round (#29 Overall) of the 2016 National Hockey League Entry Draft, the talented forward is currently in his sophomore year with his Badgers team and has 16 points in 19 games played in the Big-10 Conference.

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After successful campaigns on the U-17 and U-18 U.S. National Teams in the United States Hockey League which is a pre-collegiate developmental program, he would go on to commit at Wisconsin and the close tutelage of head coach and former NHL’er Tony Granato who will be Trent’s bench boss for the upcoming 2018 WJC tourney. Although missing some due to an upper-body injury during his freshman season, the then 18-year-old managed to have a great season posting 33 points in 30 games in 2016-17.

Ryan Lindgren – University of Minnesota

Another U.S. National Team USHL alumni who joined the NCAA College Hockey ranks last season, Bruins prospect, Ryan Lindgren was a solid addition to the Gophers program as a freshman last season and although his offensive numbers are not going to blow you away, his shutdown style will. The 6′-0″ 198-pound Minnesota native has a strong ability to use his body effective whether moving opposing players trying to create havoc in front of his goaltender or with bone-crunching hits to those who dare cross the blueline offensively.

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This, his sophomore year the well-balanced wrecking ball is on pace to have a better year on the stat sheet with 2-2-4 numbers in18 games which is close to the half-way point of the 2017-18 NCAA Big-10 regular season. Lindgren ended his National Championship hopes last season in the final game of the 2016-17 regular season when he crashed into the boards with a season-ending injury that would later require surgery.  Lindgren was selected by the Bruins in the second round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Jeremy Swayman – University of Maine

After having a decent 2016-17 year with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede posting a 7-18-3 record with a 2.90 goals-against-average and .914 save percentage the Anchorage, Alaska native was selected in the fourth round of the NHL’s 2017 Entry Draft and was a commit to play a long way from home with the Black Bears team.  The 6′-2″ 187-pound 2017-18 freshman goaltender has played well enough to earn more time in the crease than Rob McGovern who’s been with the Black Bear team for the last three seasons and was a Bruins development camp invite in early July of 2017.

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This season with the Black Bears Swayman has a record of 5-3-1, a GAA of 2.38, and a .925 save% and has played very well and gaining the trust of head coach Red Gendron who’s entering his fifth season as the Maine, bench boss. I’d imagine Swayman will play a majority of the remaining games as former Maine alumni goaltender Mike Dunham will be making his rounds visiting and advising the developing youth in the Bruins organization crease until Swayman leaves for a pro job or remains until he gets his degree.

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