Four Eagles Named to U.S. National Jr. Prelim Roster

Dec. 4, 2013

Full preliminary roster (USAHockey.com)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Freshmen Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif.), Ryan Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass.), Ian McCoshen (Faribault, Minn.) and Steven Santini (Mahopac, N.Y.) will represent Boston College as four of 26 skaters to be selected for the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team preliminary roster as announced by USA Hockey on Wednesday, Dec. 4. 

Demko, Fitzgerald, McCoshen and Santini will return to familiar ice from earlier this season. The 26-man preliminary roster will participate in training camp from Dec. 15-18 at the University of Minnesota’s Mariucci Arena. The Eagles took on Minnesota on Oct. 25 and Oct. 27.

Once the final 23-man roster is announced on Dec. 23, the U.S. National Junior Team will participate in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship Dec. 26, 2013 - Jan. 5, 2014, in Malmo, Sweden. Prior to the start of the IIHF World Junior Championship, the U.S. will play three exhibition contests starting with Minnesota State on Dec. 17 and then travel to Angelholm, Sweden, for tilts against Finland on Dec. 20 and Sweden on Dec. 22.

Out of 26 preliminary roster skaters, 18 hail from the college game. The Eagles lead the way with four representatives.

In all, Hockey East placed nine players on the inductive squad (Tommy DePauli – Notre Dame, Jon Gillies – Providence, Matt Grzelyck – Boston University, Dan O’Regan – Boston University, Brett Pesce – New Hampshire). Five other leagues outside of the NCAA help make up the U.S. preliminary roster, including the Ontario Hockey League (OHL – 3), American Hockey League (AHL – 2), Western Hockey League (WHL – 1), Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL – 1) and the United States Hockey League (USHL – 1).

Amongst all first-year college skaters, Fitzgerald is tied for sixth in the country in points per game. Fitzgerald is averaging a point per game, having totaled seven goals and as many assists in 14 outings.

Santini and McCoshen will work to earn a spot on the defensive end. McCoshen has scored three goals and five assists thus far while Santini has accounted for a goal and three helpers. Demko will battle for a goaltending spot, bringing a 3-1-1 mark with a 2.57 goals against average and a .899 save percentage in five starts for the Eagles.

Demko is the second youngest skater on the preliminary roster behind U.S. National Under-18 Team member, Jack Eichel.

The four BC freshmen will be joined by another Eagle at camp. On March 23, 2013, BC’s associate head coach Greg Brown was named assistant coach of the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team. University of Minnesota’s Don Lucia will serve as head coach while Brown, David Lassonde of Denver and Bob Motzko of St. Cloud State will be the assistant coaches.

Brown not only represented his country at the World Junior Championships in 1986 and 1987,  he is also a two-time U.S. Olympian, having played for the both the 1988 and 1992 U.S. Olympic men's ice hockey teams.

Since 1981, 35 former Eagles have donned the red, white and blue for Team USA in the World Junior Championships, including current skaters Bill Arnold and Johnny Gaudreau. At last year’s championship in Ufa, Russia, Gaudreau, helped lead Team USA to its third goal medal as the tournament’s leading goal scorer with seven. Gaudreau also tied for fifth in points (9).

Below is BC’s all-time World Junior Championships list from 1981 to now:

1981
Jim Chisholm
Bob O’Connor

1983
Scott Harlow

1985
Craig Janney
Brian Leetch

1986
Greg Brown
Craig Janney
Brian Leetch
Dan Shea

1987
Greg Brown
Brian Leetch

1988
Ted Crowley
David Emma
Steve Scheifele

1989
Ted Crowley
David Emma
Steve Heinze
Bill Guerin

1990
Mark Beran
Ted Crowley
Bill Guerin

1991
Ian Moran

1996
Marty Reasoner
Jeff Farkas

1997
Blake Bellefeuille
Marty Reasoner
Jeff Farkas