by Amy Johnson, Director of Communications & Administration, Rocket Sports Media
LAKE PLACID, NY. — The 2014 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp is officially underway in Lake Placid, NY. The week-long event, held at the Olympic Training Center, allows the national junior hockey team’s coaches and staff get their first look at 42 potential candidates for this year’s World Junior Championship tournament. The 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship tournament will take place December 26, 2014 – January 5, 2015 in Toronto and Montreal.
What makes this camp even more exciting is the addition of junior hockey squads from Finland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic who join in to create an international tournament atmosphere. It gives all players a chance to get a feel for their opponents on the ice now, and also gives scouts a chance to evaluate how their teams perform in international competition.
For this first part of the week Team USA is split into USA Blue and USA White, which faced each other in the opening game on Saturday afternoon. Team Blue posted a 5-2 victory over their counterparts.
On Sunday, Sweden took on USA White for a close game in which Sweden came out on top by a single goal. The final score was 4-3. That matchup was quickly followed by a game between Finland and USA Blue. This time it was the Americans who came out victorious by one goal, winning 2-1. The Czech team will join the camp later this week after first making a stop at Team Canada’s evaluation camp which is taking place at the same time in Montreal.
We recently posted the full roster for Team USA, and below you will find the rosters for Teams Finland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic. The All Habs crew will be on-location in Lake Placid this week to bring you current news, updates, and photos!
| NUMBER | PLAYER | POSITION | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | DATE OF BIRTH | HOMETOWN | CURRENT TEAM | PRO STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Lankinen | G | 6-2 | 181 | 4/28/95 | Helsinki | HIFK Helsinki | Undrafted |
| 3 | Alex Lintuniemi | D | 6-4 | 216 | 9/23/95 | Helsinki | Ottawa 67s (OHL) | LAK (’14, 2 rd., 60th overall) |
| 4 | Sami Niku | D | 6-0 | 176 | 10/10/96 | Haapavesi | JYP Pyvasklya | Undrafted |
| 5 | Aleksi Mäkelä | D | 6-1 | 195 | 8.2.1995 | Helsinki | Ilves U20 | DAL (’13, 7th rd., 182nd overall) |
| 7 | Atte Makinen | D | 6-3 | 202 | 5/17/95 | Tampere | Tappara Tampere (LIIGA) | Undrafted |
| 8 | Mika Ilvonen | D | 5-8 | 163 | 2/27/95 | Helsinki | St. Cloud State (NCHC) | Undrafted |
| 10 | Juuso Ikonen | F | 5-7 | 161 | 1/3/95 | Espoo | JYP | Undrafted |
| 11 | Hannes Björninen | F | 5-11 | 165 | 10/19/95 | Lahti | Pelicans Jr. | Undrafted |
| 12 | Waltteri Hopponen | F | 6-1 | 181 | 2/4/96 | Helsinki | Sioux City | Undrafted |
| 13 | Joel Janatuinen | F | 6-0 | 176 | 2.2.1995 | Helsinki | Blues U20 | Undrafted |
| 14 | Juho Lammikko | F | 6-3 | 189 | 1/29/96 | Kuhmo | Assat Jr. | FLA (’14, 3 rd., 65th overall) |
| 16 | Aleksi Saarela | F | 5-10 | 196 | 1/7/97 | Helsinki | Assat Pori | 2015 Draft Eligible |
| 18 | Saku Kinnunen | F | 5-9 | 172 | 3.1.1995 | Vantaa | Kalpa | Undrafted |
| 19 | Julius Vähätalo | F | 6-5 | 191 | 3/23/95 | Vahto | TPS Jr. | DET (’14, 6 rd., 166th overall) |
| 20 | Niko Ojamäki | F | 5-9 | 158 | 6/17/95 | Haapavesi | Assat Jr. | Undrafted |
| 21 | Aleksi Mustonen | F | 5-7 | 147 | 3/28/95 | Piikkiö | K-Vantaa | Undrafted |
| 23 | Teemu Vuorisalo | D | 5-11 | 176 | 4.6.1995 | Pori | Assat U20 | Undrafted |
| 24 | Kasperi Kapanen | F | 6-0 | 181 | 7/23/96 | Espoo | KALPA U18 | PIT (’14, 1 rd., 22nd overall) |
| 26 | Miro Keskitalo | D | 6-1 | 167 | 2/16/96 | Kuopio | Jokerit U18 | Undrafted |
| 27 | Erik Autio | D | 5-10 | 172 | 23/7/1995 | Espoo | Blues U20 | Undrafted |
| 28 | Janne Puhakka | F | 5-11 | 176 | 2/24/95 | Espoo | Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL) | Undrafted |
| 29 | Otto Rauhala | F | 5-10 | 190 | 4/12/95 | Ylöjärvi | Tappara U20 | Undrafted |
| 31 | Juuse Saros | G | 5-10 | 178 | 4/19/95 | Forssa | HPK | NSH (’13, 4th rd., 99th overall) |
| 34 | Teemu Turunen | F | 5-10 | 172 | 11/24/95 | Helsinki | Jukurit Mikkeli | Undrafted |
SWEDEN
| NUMBER | PLAYER | POSITION | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | DATE OF BIRTH | HOMETOWN | CURRENT TEAM | PRO STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Ward | G | 5-9 | 168 | 1/19/95 | Nyköping | Luleå HF | Undrafted |
| 2 | Sebastian Aho | D | 5-7 | 165 | 2/17/96 | Umeå | Skellefteå AIK | Undrafted |
| 3 | Niklas Hansson | D | 6-0 | 172 | 1/8/95 | Helsingborg | Rögle BK | DAL (’13, 3rd rd., 68th overall) |
| 5 | Carl Dahlström | D | 6-3 | 212 | 1/28/95 | Stockholm | Linköpings HC | CHI (’13, 2nd rd., 51st overall) |
| 6 | Robin Norell | D | 5-9 | 192 | 2/18/95 | Stockholm | Djurgårdens IF | CHI (’13, 4th rd., 111th overall) |
| 7 | Julius Bergman | D | 6-1 | 187 | 11/2/95 | Stockholm | Frölunda HC | SJS (’14, 2nd rd., 46th overall) |
| 8 | Anton Cederholm | D | 6-1 | 205 | 2/21/95 | Helsingborg | Portland Winterhawks HC | VAN (’13, 5th rd., 145th overall) |
| 9 | Jacob de la Rose | F | 6-2 | 190 | 5/20/95 | Arvika | Leksands IF | MTL (’13, 2nd rd., 34th overall) |
| 10 | Axel Holmström | F | 6-0 | 198 | 6/29/96 | Arvidsjaur | Skellefteå AIK | DET (’14, 7th rd., 196th overall) |
| 12 | Victor Olofsson | F | 6-0 | 167 | 7/18/95 | Örnsköldsvik | MODO Hockey | BUF (’14. 7th rd., 181st overall) |
| 14 | Robert Hägg | D | 6-2 | 207 | 2/8/95 | Uppsala | Philadelphia Flyers | PHI (’13, 2nd rd., 41st overall) |
| 15 | Gustaf Franzén | F | 5-9 | 161 | 9/22/96 | Valdemarsvik | HV 71 | 2015 Draft Eligible |
| 16 | Axel Blomqvist | F | 6-4 | 194 | 1/30/95 | Osby | Victoria Royals | Undrafted |
| 17 | Adrian Kempe | F | 6-1 | 187 | 9/13/96 | Kramfors | MODO Hockey | LAK (’14, 1st rd., 29th overall) |
| 19 | Victor Crus Rydberg | F | 5-9 | 183 | 3/21/95 | Växjö | Linköpings HC | NYI (’13, 5th rd., 136th overall) |
| 20 | Leon Bristedt | F | 5-6 | 183 | 3/14/95 | Stockholm | Linköpings HC | Undrafted |
| 22 | Adam Brodecki | F | 5-9 | 161 | 2/22/95 | Stockholm | Brynäs IF | Undrafted |
| 23 | Oskar Lindblom | F | 6-1 | 192 | 8/15/96 | Gävle | Brynäs IF | PHI (’14, 5th rd., 138th overall) |
| 25 | Lawrence Pilut | D | 5-8 | 154 | 12/30/95 | Tingsryd | HV 71 | Undrafted |
| 26 | Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson | F | 6-1 | 185 | 10/31/96 | Stockholm | Omaha Lancers | 2015 Draft Eligible |
| 27 | Anton Karlsson | F | 6-1 | 187 | 8/3/96 | Göteborg | Frölunda HC | ARI (’14, 3rd rd., 87th overall) |
| 28 | Lucas Wallmark | F | 6-0 | 176 | 9/5/95 | Umeå | Luleå HF | CAR (’14, 4th rd., 97th overall) |
| 29 | Anton Blidh | F | 6-0 | 187 | 3/14/95 | Mölnlycke | Frölunda HC | BOS (’13, 6th rd., 180th overall) |
| 30 | Jonas Johansson | G | 6-3 | 183 | 9/19/95 | Gävle | Brynäs IF | BUF (’14, 3rd rd., 61st overall) |
| 35 | Fredrik Bergvik | G | 6-1 | 183 | 2/14/95 | Stockholm | Frölunda HC | SJS (’13, 4th rd., 117th overall) |
CZECH REPUBLIC
Goaltenders
Vítek Vaněček (Liberec, drafted by Washington Capitals)
Karel Vejmelka (Pardubice)
Miroslav Svoboda (Třinec)
Defensemen
Filip Pyrochta (Liberec)
Tomáš Dvořák (Karlovy Vary)
Dominik Mašín (Slavia, drafted by Tampa Bay Lightning)
Lukáš Klok (Vítkovice)
David Němeček (Saskatoon)
Robert Černý (Chomutov)
Marek Baránek (Litvínov)
Forwards
Luboš Rob (České Budějovice)
Sebastian Gorčík (Karlovy Vary)
Dominik Pokorný (Kometa Brno)
Marek Růžička (Třinec)
David Michel (Plzeň)
Patrik Zdráhal (Vítkovice)
Ondřej Kaše (Chomutov, drafted by Anaheim Ducks)
David Kämpf (Chomutov)
David Tomášek (Belleville)
Václav Karabáček (Gatineau, drafted by Buffalo Sabres)
Jakub Vrána (Linköping, drafted by Washington Capitals)
David Pastrňák (Södertälje, drafted by Boston Bruins)
Jan Mandát (Victoriaville)
Ondřej Kopta (Hradec Králové)
Ready in case of injury
Roman Čermák (D, Mladá Boleslav)
Pavel Jenyš (F, Kometa Brno, drafted by Minnesota Wild)
Roman Přikryl (F, Plzeň)
Filip Dundáček (D, Jihlava)
Lukáš Vopelka (F, Örebro)
Sources: USA Hockey, Czech List