Four Ducks prospects named to 2021 Team USA WJC roster

As teams prepare to head into Edmonton, Alberta for the 2021 World Juniors Championship, final roster cuts are being made. On Saturday, USA Hockey announced their final 25-man roster, with four prospects from the Anaheim Ducks making the cut.

Forward Trevor Zegras is among the eight returning members of the 2020 U.S. National Junior Team. Defenders Jackson LaCombe and Henry Thrun, as well as forward Sam Colangelo will be joining the team for their World Juniors U20 debut.

A ninth-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Zegras played last season with Boston University, where he tallied 11 goals and 25 assists in 33 games. He signed with the Ducks in March, ending his NCAA career after one season.

Colangelo was selected by the Ducks in the second round of the 2020 Draft out of the Chicago Steel of the USHL. He is currently committed to the Northeastern University Howlin’ Huskies hockey program, which is set to begin their season on Dec. 26.

LaCombe is a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, where last year he put up 13 points in 33 games. He was a second-round pick by the Ducks in 2019.

Thrun previously represented Team USA in World Juniors at the U18 and U17 levels and was part of the US National Team Development Program, prior to being selected in the fourth round of the 2019 Draft. He tallied 21 points in 31 games for Harvard University last year, but due to the Ivy League cancelling winter sports amid coronavirus concerns, he returned to the USHL to play with the Dubuque Fighting Saints.

The state of California is also well-represented in this USA Hockey team. Calgary Flames goaltending prospect Dustin Wolf is from Gilroy, defenders Ryan Johnson and Cam York are from Irvine and Anaheim respectively and forward Brendan Brisson hails from Manhattan Beach.

The tournament will begin with a preliminary round on Christmas Day (Dec. 25, 2020) through Dec. 31. Team USA will play its first preliminary matchup on Dec. 25 against Russia. The quarterfinals will be on Jan. 2, 2021, followed by the semifinals on Jan. 4. The Bronze and Gold Medal games will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 5.

The complete roster is listed below.

TEAM USA 2021

Forwards

Matthew Berniers (2021 NHL Draft)
Brett Berard (New York Rangers, 2020)
Matthew Boldy (Minnesota Wild, 2019)
Bobby Brink* (Philadelphia Flyers, 2019)
Brendan Brisson (Vegas Golden Knights, 2020)
Cole Caufield* (Montreal Canadiens, 2019)
Sam Colangelo (Anaheim Ducks, 2020)
John Farinacci (Arizona Coyotes, 2019)
Arthur Kaliyev* (Los Angeles Kings, 2019)
Patrick Moynihan (New Jersey Devils, 2019)
Landon Slaggert (Chicago Blackhawks, 2020)
Alex Turcotte* (Los Angeles Kings, 2019)
Trevor Zegras* (Anaheim Ducks, 2019)

Defenders

Brock Faber (Los Angeles Kings, 2020)
Drew Helleson (Colorado Avalanche, 2019)
Ryan Johnson (Buffalo Sabres, 2019)
Tyle Kleven (Ottawa Senators, 2020)
Jackson LaCombe (Anaheim Ducks, 2019)
Jake Sanderson (Ottawa Senators, 2020)
Hunter Skinner (New York Rangers, 2019)
Henry Thrun (Anaheim Ducks, 2019)
Cam York* (Philadelphia Flyers, 2019)

Goaltenders

Spencer Knight* (Florida Panthers, 2019)
Logan Stein (2021 NHL Draft)
Dustin Wolf* (Calgary Flames, 2019)

* — denotes returning player for 2020 WJC