October 24, 2007

• Download Roster Here 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- USA Hockey today announced the 21-player roster and coaching staff for its 2007 U.S. Junior Select Team. The squad will compete at the 2007 World Junior A Challenge from Nov. 5-11 in Trail and Nelson, B. C. 

P.K. O’Handley (Waterloo, Iowa) will serve as the head coach of the U.S. Junior Select Team, while Regg Simon (Des Moines, Iowa) has been tabbed as assistant coach.

O’Handley is currently in his sixth season as the head coach and general manager of the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks. Last season, he led Waterloo to its first-ever Anderson Cup as the USHL’s regular-season champion and earned USHL Coach of the Year honors. In 2003, O’Handley was named the U.S. Olympic Committee Developmental Coach of the Year. Most recently in international competition, O’Handley served as the head coach for the U.S. Junior Select Team at the 2005 Viking Cup, leading the team to a third-place finish.

Simon is in his fourth season as head coach and general manager of the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL. In 2005-06, he led the Buccaneers to the Clark Cup as Tier 1 national champion and was named USHL General Manager of the Year.

“We have a great blend of skill and size and should be a fun team to watch,” said O’Handley. “We’ll be going against some great competition and our expectations are high.”

Of the 21 players on the roster, 20 are from the United States Hockey League, the only Tier 1 Junior A hockey league in the United States.

Highlighting the roster are four National Hockey League draftees, including defensemen Ben Blood (Plymouth, Minn./Ottawa Senators), Blake Kessel (Verona, Wis./N.Y. Islanders) and John Lee (Moorhead, Minn./Florida Panthers) and forward Nico Sacchetti (Virginia, Minn./Dallas Stars).

Of the 12 forwards on the roster, four have prior international experience. Mike Cichy (New Hartford, Conn.) and Tim Hall (Sewickley, Pa.) were part of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team that competed at the 2007 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament. Sacchetti and Jimmy Hayes (Dorchester, Mass.) were both part of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team that finished second at the 2006 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka. Hayes, the lone non-USHL player on the roster, currently competes at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program.

Two of the seven defensemen have worn the USA jersey before.  John Carlson (Colonia, N.J.) competed at the 2007 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka, while Max Nicastro (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) was part of the 2006 U.S. Under-17 Select Team that finished in first place at the Three Nations Tournament in Rochester, N.Y.

Sharing goaltending duties for Team USA will be Brady Hjelle (International Falls, Minn.) and Josh Robinson (Frankenmuth, Mich.). Hjelle was a member of the 2007 U.S. Under-18 Select Team.

The U.S. Junior Select Team will open competition at the World Junior A Challenge on Tuesday, Nov. 6, when it takes on Belarus.

NOTES: This is Team USA’s first appearance in the two-year-old World Junior A Challenge … The 2007 World Junior A Challenge will include teams from Belarus, Germany, Russia, the United States and two teams from Canada (East and West).

Team USA 2007 World Junior A Challenge Schedule

Nov. 5-11, 2007 • Trail & Nelson, B.C.

Date	Opponent	Location	Time (Local/EDT)
Nov. 6	Belarus	Nelson, British Columbia	7:30 p.m./10:30 p.m.
Nov. 7	Canada (East)	Nelson, British Columbia	7:30 p.m./10:30 p.m.
Nov. 8	TBD	TBD	TBD
Nov. 10	TBD	TBD	TBD