USHL Lincoln Stars

Three Former Stars Named to Preliminary Team USA World Junior Championship Roster

December 5, 2018 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release


Each year the hockey world sends its best talent under 20 years old to compete in the IIHF World Junior Championship. This year the participating countries will compete in Vancouver, Canada in hopes of bringing home gold. For the 2019 edition of the WJC, three former Stars have been named to Team USA's preliminary roster: Forwards Ryan Poehling and Samuel Walker, and goalie Cayden Primeau. The trio will attend Team USA's training camp on December 15th through the 17th to compete for a spot on the final roster.

This is the second consecutive season in which Ryan Poehling has made the preliminary roster. He was a member of the final roster last season that earned a bronze medal at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. Poehling, who played with the Stars in 2015-16, has been a driving factor behind St. Cloud State's rise to the top of the NCAA DI polls this season. A 2017 first-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens, the young forward has three goals and 12 assists in 14 games for the Huskies this season. He registered points in seven of eight games in November, aiding his team in going 7-0-2 in the month.

Samuel Walker joined the Stars for a stint in 2016-17 before being selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2017 NHL Draft. As a freshman at Minnesota, he's tallied three goals and six assists in 13 games for the Golden Gophers.

Cayden Primeau manned the Stars crease for 30 games in their 2016-17 campaign, winning 14 while adding one shutout. Like Poehling, Primeau was taken by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2017 NHL draft. At the college level, his play has been outstanding for Northeastern University. In his freshman season, Primeau went 19-8-5 with a 1.92 GAA, while posting a .931 save percentage and six shutouts. He finished as a finalist for the Mike Ritcher Award, the NCAA's honor awarded to the goaltender considered the best in division one each season. Off to a 9-3-1 start with two shutouts and a Hockey East Goaltender of the Month award (October), Primeau looks like he'll contend for the Ritcher Award again.

All three players will join the other 26 named to the preliminary roster and report to Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington for training camp. Following the cut down to the final roster, team USA will open their quest for gold against Slovakia on December 26th in Vancouver.

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