Hughes to be in spotlight at U.S. World Junior select camp

Jack Hughes will receive plenty of attention as the projected No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft when USA Hockey holds selection camp to help determine the roster for the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship.

The camp, which will include 16 forwards, 10 defensemen and three goalies, runs Saturday through Monday, at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington, before shifting to Sandman Centre in Kamloops, British Columbia, Dec. 18-20.
\[Complete World Junior Championship schedule\]
The U.S. will play exhibition games against Russia at Sandman Centre on Dec. 20 (10 p.m. ET), and Czech Republic at George Preston Recreation Centre in Langley, British Columbia on Dec. 22 (10 p.m. ET). U.S. coach Mike Hastings will have his 23-player roster in place after the game against Czech Republic.
Hughes (5-foot-10, 168 pounds) was the youngest, and arguably best, player at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Kamloops in August. The 17-year-old center had three points (one goal, two assists) in five games against teams from Canada, Finland and Sweden.
"He's an incredible talent," Hastings said of Hughes. "I thought he showed himself very well in Kamloops. I'm looking forward to seeing how much his great game and appetite for competition has grown."
Hughes leads USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team with 48 points (10 goals, 38 assists) in 25 games.
The 2019 WJC will be held in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. The United States is in Group B for the preliminary round, along with Finland, Kazakhstan, Slovakia and Sweden, and will play at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria. Group A, which consists of defending champion Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Russia and Switzerland, will play its preliminary-round games at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
"We're asking our camp invites to show us what you want your role to be," Hastings said. "How do you want to impact us once you get in between the boards? And then how do you handle a very short window of success or lack of success in a given practice or competition? We're not playing 10 exhibition games, so the clock starts running once you set foot in the camp; you're being evaluated at all times. We're trying to get a group that understands the goal and how we want to do things to get there."
Here are five things to watch heading into select camp:

The Hughes brothers

Jack and Quinn Hughes hope to become the third pair of brothers to play for the U.S. at the World Juniors, joining Peter and Chris Ferraro in 1993 (fourth place) and Joey and Michael Anderson in 2018 (third place).
Quinn Hughes, 19, was selected No. 7 by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2018 NHL Draft and is a sophomore defenseman at the University of Michigan. He finished with a U.S.-high six points (one goal, five assists) at the World Junior Summer Showcase and leads Michigan with 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) in 17 games.
"They're competitors and they bring their skill sets and talents to the table," Hastings said. "I appreciate the fact both have had the opportunity to represent USA Hockey and have taken tremendous pride in that opportunity; that's what you appreciate as a coach."

Who will be captain?

Hastings said there's no timetable to selecting a captain, but he expects the leadership group to be a shared responsibility. The candidates could come from among the five returning skaters who helped the U.S. win the bronze medal at the 2018 WJC in Buffalo: defensemen Quinn Hughes, Dylan Samberg (Winnipeg Jets) and Michael Anderson (Los Angeles Kings), and forwards Joshua Norris (Ottawa Senators) and Ryan Poehling (Montreal Canadiens).

Goaltending battle

The competition for the No. 1 job in goal could turn out to be the most intriguing battle at camp. In the mix are Kyle Keyser (Boston Bruins), Cayden Primeau (Montreal Canadiens) and top 2019 NHL Draft prospect Spencer Knight, who plays for the NTDP U-18 team.
Keyser is 16-5-1 with a 2.37 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and two shutouts in 24 games for Oshawa of the Ontario Hockey League. Primeau, a sophomore at Northeastern University, is 10-3-1 with a 2.40 GAA, .918 save percentage and two shutouts in 14 games. Knight, who received an A rating from NHL Central Scouting in its November players to watch list, is 12-2-0 with a 2.40 GAA and .922 save percentage in 16 games.
"I think we have really solid goaltending and are deep at the position," U.S. National Junior Team general manager John Vanbiesbrouck said. "I think any three of the guys can carry the tournament."

Replacing Tkachuk

Hastings will need to find a replacement for 19-year-old left wing Brady Tkachuk, who has 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in 21 games for the Ottawa Senators and will not be made available for the tournament.
Tkachuk was third for the U.S. at the 2018 WJC with nine points (three goals, six assists) in seven games. He provided physicality and a strong net-front presence.
"It's an opportunity for somebody else to step into that role, but I don't think it has to be one guy," Hastings said. "You love players like Brady because they're universal; you can play them anywhere up and down your lineup. We need some guys to pick up those qualities, but it doesn't have to be just one player."

First-round finds

Seven players picked in the first round of the NHL Draft will be at the camp: defensemen Quinn Hughes and K'Andre Miller (2018, No. 22, New York Rangers), and forwards Joshua Norris (2017, No. 19, San Jose Sharks, traded to Ottawa Senators), Ryan Poehling (2017, No. 25, Montreal Canadiens), Oliver Wahlstrom (2018, No. 11, New York Islanders), Joel Farabee (2018, No. 14, Philadelphia Flyers) and Jay O'Brien (2018, No. 19, Flyers).

USA HOCKEY SELECT CAMP ROSTER

GOALIES:Kyle Keyser, Oshawa, OHL (Boston Bruins); Spencer Knight, USA U-18, USHL (2019 draft eligible); Cayden Primeau, Northeastern, H-EAST (Montreal Canadiens)
DEFENSEMEN:Michael Anderson, Minnesota-Duluth, NCHC (Los Angeles Kings); Michael Callahan, Providence, H-EAST (Arizona Coyotes); Ty Emberson, Wisconsin, BIG 10 (Arizona Coyotes); Quinn Hughes, Michigan, BIG 10 (Vancouver Canucks); Joey Keane, Barrie, OHL (New York Rangers); Philip Kemp, Yale, ECAC (Edmonton Oilers); K'Andre Miller, Wisconsin, BIG 10 (New York Rangers); Dylan Samberg, Minnesota-Duluth, NCHC (Winnipeg Jets); Mattias Samuelsson, Western Michigan, NCHC (Buffalo Sabres); John St. Ivany, Yale, ECAC (Philadelphia Flyers)
FORWARDS:Evan Barratt, Penn State, BIG 10 (Chicago Blackhawks); Noah Cates, Minnesota-Duluth, NCHC (Philadelphia Flyers); Alexander Chmelevski, Ottawa, OHL (San Jose Sharks); Logan Cockerill, Boston University, H-EAST (New York Islanders); Cole Coskey, Saginaw, OHL (2019 draft eligible); Sean Dhooghe, Wisconsin, BIG 10 (2019 draft eligible); Jack Drury, Harvard, ECAC (Carolina Hurricanes); Joel Farabee, Boston University, H-EAST (Philadelphia Flyers); Jack Hughes, USA U-18, USHL (2019 draft eligible); Tyler Madden, Northeastern, H-EAST (Vancouver Canucks); Joshua Norris, Michigan, BIG 10 (Ottawa Senators); Jay O'Brien, Providence, H-EAST (Philadelphia Flyers); Ryan Poehling, St. Cloud State, NCHC (Montreal Canadiens); Jason Robertson, Niagara, OHL (Dallas Stars); Oliver Wahlstrom, Boston College, H-EAST (New York Islanders); Samuel Walker, Minnesota, BIG 10 (Tampa Bay Lightning)