Team USA trims World Junior Summer Showcase roster to 31

By @StefanKubus – 

With three days of the World Junior Summer Showcase in the books, Team USA has slimmed down its roster.

USA Hockey announced that the team has trimmed its entire roster from 44 players to 31 ahead of the U.S./Canada showdown Tuesday at 4 p.m.

“As a staff, we’ve been extremely impressed by the level of competition and commitment to learn that this group has shown through our first four days together,” said John Vanbiesbrouck, general manager of the 2020 U.S. National Junior Team and also assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. “As we told the players, this camp is the first step in selecting 23 players who will represent the United States in one of the biggest hockey tournaments in the world and these roster decisions are just a part of the process. History’s shown that being here does not guarantee an invitation in December, so w’re excited to see all of these players, as well as some who weren’t here, throughout the fall as we continue our evaluation process as a staff.”

John Farinacci, Demetrios Koumontzis, Owen Lindmark, Luke Loheit, Luke Toporowski, Blade Jenkins, Drew DeRidder, Jackson LaCombe, Marshall Warren, Alex Vlasic, Case McCarthy, Slava Demin and Drew Helleson were those cut.

Through two days of games, University of Michigan commit John Beecher leads all skaters with four points and three goals, while Novi native and Michigan State defenseman Christian Krygier holds a showcase-high three assists.

The current roster as of July 29: