The International Ice Hockey Federation hosted its World Juniors Summer Showcase at Ridder Arena from July 25 to Aug. 2.
The showcase is for the different nations competing to practice and play each other before the official tournament starts in December.
In December, the championship tournament will be played at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. It will be the first time the tournament is played in the Twin Cities.
Former Gophers player Lou Nanne said in a press conference with Gophers head coach Bob Motzko that it was overdue for Minnesota to host.
“You look at the players who get drafted, and you look at the players in the NHL, Minnesota leads the way,” Nanne said. “Why not give us the opportunity to host? To get something like this is really a trophy.”
For the summer showcase, only the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland participated.
The championship will feature Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Latvia.
Sophomore John Whipple and Brodie Ziemer, and incoming freshmen LJ Mooney, Jacob Rombach and Jacob Kvasnicka were the only Gophers to join Team USA.
For the five Gophers, there were plenty of familiar faces as Motzko is coaching Team USA and numerous other Gophers hockey staff will be part of the team.
Gophers alumni Brock Faber and Jackson LaCombe were also provided guidance during practices and games.
Mooney spoke with NHL reporter Mike Morreale about how excited he is to be a part of this opportunity before he takes to the ice for the Gophers.
“I couldn’t be luckier to have all this going on here in Minnesota,” Mooney said. “I’m pretty happy to get here on campus because I haven’t really been up here yet, so it’s cool to see everything before I come up here for good.“
Mooney added that having Motzko coaching is special as well.
The USA hockey team is split into two teams: USA White and USA Blue. The final roster will be composed of the best players from each.
Neither team had standout performances in the showcase.
It is projected that Ziemer and Mooney will make the final roster. Ziemer won the gold with Team USA last year at the IIHF World Juniors Championship and has experience playing with the other returning Team USA players.
Roster spots are not guaranteed, though; only 25 of the 42 players invited will be on the final roster.
Motzko said that the competitiveness of international hockey has only grown, and for Team USA to three-peat on home ice, they will have to get better.
“We just have to get better every day,” said Motzko. “I call it the slow drip. We’re going to fight through the games, and of course, you play teams like Canada, Sweden, and Finland, but international hockey has grown so much, you can’t take anyone lightly.”
