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World Junior goalie tryout list announced; four of the seven have Michigan ties

MiHockey Staff

By Michael Caples –

USA Hockey announced today the seven goaltenders that are invited to their 2014 national junior goaltender evaluation camp, and four have Michigan ties.

The camp, which will help Team USA decide which goaltenders they will be taking to Toronto and Montreal for the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship, features Michigan natives Brandon Halverson (Traverse City) and Devin Williams (Saginaw), along with Plymouth Whalers goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic and Michigan State commit Edwin Minney.

The other invitees include NTDP product Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif.), Brendan Burke (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Evan Cowley (Evergreen, Colo.).

Team USA will host the goaltenders in Ann Arbor from June 9-11, and they will go through on-ice sessions with Mike Ayers, goaltending coach for the 2015 U.S. National Junior Team, and Kevin Reiter, the goaltending coach for the NTDP.

Halverson is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL; he played for Little Caesars and the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies before making the jump to juniors. This year, he recorded a 12-6-1 record with a 2.96 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.

Williams, who also plays in the OHL with the Erie Otters, spent time with the Flint Phantoms, Bay City Blizzard and Belle Tire before playing for the Detroit Motor City Metal Jackets. He earned a share of the OHL’s Dave Pinkney Trophy as the most outstanding goaltending duo this season after recording 23-5-1-0 record, including five shutouts, along with a goals-against average of 2.57 and a .905 save percentage.

Nedeljkovic, meanwhile, was named the OHL’s goaltender of the year after an impressive 2013-14 season with the Whalers that saw him record a 26-27-0-7 record with a 2.88 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage (second-best in the league) and one shutout while facing the second-most shots in the OHL.

Minney will head to Michigan State next season after a stellar NTDP U18 campaign where he recorded a 22-9-1 record with a 2.64 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage.

The player evaluation camp for the World Junior squad will take place in Lake Placid from August 2-9. The roster for that camp will be announced later this month.