Luke Hughes
, selected by the New Jersey Devils with the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, will be one of six NHL first-round picks looking to make an impression when USA Hockey holds selection camp to help determine the roster for the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship.
U.S. set to open select camp for World Junior Championship
Hughes, Beniers among group of 30 players competing to make roster for defending champions
The camp, which includes 16 forwards, 10 defensemen and four goalies, runs Monday through Wednesday at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan.
The United States will try to win the tournament back to back for the first time after defeating Canada 2-0 in the 2021 championship game. Canada was the last team to win consecutive tournaments, winning five straight from 2005-09.
The tournament is scheduled to be played from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Red Deer and Edmonton, Alberta.
\[RELATED: 2022 World Junior schedule\]
Hughes has scored 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) and has a plus-16 rating in 19 games during his freshman season at the University of Michigan.
"I'm really hopeful to make the team and to try and win the tournament]," the 18-year-old defenseman said. "I think a lot of you guys have seen me play a lot lately and I think we all know what I bring to the table. I can defend the rush to cycle, have a pretty good stick and in the neutral zone and I bring exits out of my own zone and entries into the offensive zone. I can run power play too.
"That's some of the stuff that I bring and I'm really hopeful to make that team and really excited."
Hughes will be joined at selection camp by three of his Michigan teammates, forwards
[Matty Beniers
(Seattle Kraken, No. 2, 2021 NHL Draft) and
Mackie Samoskevich
(Florida Panthers, No. 24, 2021), and defenseman
Jacob Truscott
(Vancouver Canucks, No. 144, 2020).
Three other NHL first-round picks will attend U.S. camp: defenseman
Jake Sanderson
(Ottawa Senators, No. 5, 2020); and forwards
Matt Coronato
(Calgary Flames, No. 13, 2021) and
Chaz Lucius
(Winnipeg Jets, No. 18, 2021).
Hughes is hoping to become the first of the Hughes brothers to help the U.S. win a World Junior Championship.
Quinn Hughes, a defenseman with the Vancouver Canucks, helped the U.S. finish third in 2018 and second in 2019. Jack Hughes, a center with the New Jersey Devils, played with Quinn on the 2019 team.
The 25-player tournament roster will be named at the end of camp, and the team will then travel to Edmonton and quarantine for 48 hours before continuing training. It will play two exhibition games, against the Czech Republic at Gary W. Harris Centre in Red Deer on Dec. 20 and against Finland at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Dec. 22.
The United States is scheduled to play preliminary-round games at WP Centrium in Red Deer in Group B, along with Russia, Sweden, Slovakia and Switzerland. The first game will be against Slovakia on Dec. 26.
Canada will play in Group A in the preliminary round, with its games at Rogers Place. Also in Group A is Finland, Czech Republic, Germany and Austria.
The top four teams in each group will play in the quarterfinals Jan. 2. The semifinals are Jan. 4, and the championship and third-place games are Jan. 5.
USA HOCKEY SELECT CAMP ROSTER
GOALIES:
Drew Commesso
, Boston University, H-EAST (Chicago Blackhawks); Kaidan Mbereko, Lincoln, USHL (2022 draft eligible); Luke Pavicich, Massachusetts, H-EAST (2022 draft eligible); Dylan Silverstein, USA U-18, NTDP (2022 draft eligible)
DEFENSEMEN: \
Brock Faber
, Minnesota, BIG TEN (Los Angeles Kings); Luke Hughes, Michigan, BIG TEN (New Jersey Devils);
Wyatt Kaiser
, Minnesota Duluth, NCHC (Chicago Blackhawks);
Connor Kelley
, Minnesota Duluth, NCHC (Chicago Blackhawks); \
Tyler Kleven
, North Dakota, NCHC (Ottawa Senators);
Ian Moore
, Harvard, ECAC (Anaheim Ducks);
Scott Morrow
, Massachusetts, H-EAST (Carolina Hurricanes); \Jake Sanderson, North Dakota, NCHC (Ottawa Senators); Jacob Truscott, Michigan, BIG TEN (Vancouver Canucks)
FORWARDS:\Matty Beniers, Michigan, BIG TEN (Seattle Kraken); \
Brett Berard
, Providence, H-EAST (New York Rangers); Logan Cooley, USA U-18, NTDP (2022 draft eligible); Matt Coronato, Harvard, ECAC (Calgary Flames);
Tanner Dickinson
, Sault Ste. Marie, OHL (St. Louis Blues); Dominic James, Minnesota Duluth, NCHC (2022 draft eligible);
Matthew Knies
, Minnesota, BIG TEN (Toronto Maple Leafs); Chaz Lucius, Minnesota, BIG TEN (Winnipeg Jets);
Carter Mazur
, Denver, NCHC (Detroit Red Wings);
Declan McDonnell
, Kitchener, OHL (Tampa Bay Lightning);
Sasha Pastujov
, Guelph, OHL (Anaheim Ducks);
Dylan Peterson
, Boston University, HE (St. Louis Blues); Mackie Samoskevich, Michigan, BIG TEN (Florida Panthers);
Redmond Savage
, Miami, NCHC (Detroit Red Wings); \
Landon Slaggert
, Notre Dame, BIG TEN (Chicago Blackhawks);
Ty Smilanic
, Quinnipiac, ECAC (Florida Panthers)
\ -- Denotes returning player*
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