Kessel, 13 NAHL alumni to help defend world junior title

December 9, 2004 - North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release

USA Hockey has named its full squad to defend their World Junior Championship title later this month and 13 of the 22 players are NAHL alumni. And one player, Phil Kessel, is currently playing in the NAHL.

The 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship will be played in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and Thief River Falls, Minnesota, from December 25, 2004, through January 4, 2005 and the U.S. will enter the tournament as defending champion after skating to its first gold medal in the 27-year history of the event in Finland last year.

Kessel, pictured above, is the youngest player on the team and a standout with the U.S. National Team Development Program. The 17-year old has 15 goals and 27 points in 11 games for the NTDP this year, including four goals and four assists in NAHL games.

The former NAHL players on the roster include goaltender Al Montoya (Texas Tornado and USNTDP), forward Dan Fritsche (Cleveland Barons), and 12 other USNTDP grads -- defensemen Casey Borer, Nate Hagemo, Matt Hunwick, Jeff Likens and Ryan Suter, and forwards Mike Brown, Jake Dowell, T.J. Hensick, Patrick O'Sullivan, Adam Pineault and Kevin Porter.

Suter currently plays in the American Hockey League for the Milwaukee Admirals while Fritsche plays with the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League. The rest of the NAHL alumni are in Division I college programs.

Glenview, Illinois native Montoya, who currently plays for the University of Michigan, was named to last year's WJC All-Star Team and was drafted by the New York Rangers in the 2004 Entry Draft. Hunwick, Likens, Fritsche and O'Sullivan are also returnees from last year's championship team.

Besides Montoya, the other NAHL alumni on this team who have been drafted by NHL clubs are Borer (Carolina Hurricanes), Hunwick (Boston Bruins), Suter (Nashville Predators), Brown (Vancouver Canucks), Dowell (Chicago Blackhawks), Fritsche (Columbus Blue Jackets), O'Sullivan (Minnesota Wild), Pineault (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Porter (Phoenix Coyotes).

Hagemo is eligible for the 2005 Entry Draft and Kessel will be eligible in 2006.

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