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WHL Spokane Chiefs

Johnson Makes USA's Final Roster

December 23, 2009 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


Spokane Chief forward Tyler Johnson has been named to the United State's final roster for the World Junior Hockey Championships and will play in the tournament for the second year in a row. Johnson, born and raised in Spokane, is one of 22 Americans on the roster that will begin the competition on Saturday, December 26th against Slovakia in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

"This roster includes a significant number of players who have had success in international competition, which will help us as we prepare to play here in Canada," said Jim Johannson, general manager of the 2010 U.S. National Junior Team. "We had some really tough choices to make to get down to 22, but in the end, that's a positive sign for the state of hockey in our country."

"I'm really excited about this team," said Dean Blais, head coach of the 2010 U.S. National Junior Team. "We have a good mixture of speed and grit, and we look forward to the challenge ahead of us."

Johnson is one of returning forwards from the 2009 U.S. National Junior Team joining Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn./University of North Dakota) and Jordan Schroeder (Prior Lake, Minn./University of Minnesota) on the team.

The 19-year-old is one of three Chiefs participating in the tournament. Defensemen Jared Cowen will play for Canada and Stefan Ulmer will play for Austria. The United States will skate in the same pool as Canada, Latvia, Slovakia and Switzerland. The final game of pool play will take place on Thursday, December 31st when the Americans and Canadians play.

Also highlighting the roster are seven players from the gold medal-winning 2009 U.S. National Under-18 Team, including forwards Ryan Bourque (Boxford, Mass.), Jerry D'Amigo (Binghamton, N.Y./Rensselaer), Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y.) and Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev./U.S. National Under-18 Team); defensemen Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich.) and John Ramage (St. Louis, Mo./University of Wisconsin); and goalie Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich./U.S. National Under-18 Team).

The game will begin at 5 p.m. PST, and will be aired live in the U.S. on the NHL Network.

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