Jayson asked:
>I have heard that the USA WOrld Jr Team will be finalized this Friday,
>is there any truth to this?
 
Not according to the Minnesota Daily article I posted 12/1:
>
> 2 freshmen will miss Classic
>
> At least two Gophers will miss the Mariucci Classic on Dec. 29-30
> while competing for the U.S. National Junior Team in Massachusetts.
> Gophers freshmen Erik Rasmussen and Reggie Berg have already made
> the team, which will be playing at the end of December in the World
> Junior Championships.
>
> Wyatt Smith, Casey Hankinson and Jason Godbout will also go with the
> U.S. team for a mini-tryout, and could also miss the Classic if they
> make the roster. The junior team's final squad will be announced
> after two games on Dec. 21 and 23.
 
Info about the Junior team is also buried in Jeff Weiss' CCHA notes:
>FOUR PLAYERS INVITED TO U.S. NATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM TRAINING CAMP -- Current CCHA
>players Marc Magliarditi (WMU), Chris Bogas (MSU), Matt Herr (Michigan) and
>Mike York are four of 26 people named to the United States National Junior
>Training Camp roster.  Of the 26 invitees, 22 will be selected for the national
>team which will compete in the World Junior Championships from December 26 -
>January 4 in Massachusetts.  Bowling Green recruit Peter Ratchuk is one of nine
>defensemen invited, while Falcon signee Adam Edinger is one of 15 forwards
>invited.
>
 
Jayson further wrote:
>Which brings me to another question:
>
>Why on earth would Jack Parker name only 10 players early on and then
>go ahead and name the rest later?  This is, IMHO, not good practice.
 
Sounds like maybe he wanted a chance to evaluate the players at a later
date, to see how they look in mid-season form.  Jason Godbout, for example,
was unable to participate in the Olympic Festival camp because of recovery
from heart surgery.
 
Pam Sweeney
Go Gophers!
 
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