Wednesday, June 07, 2006

2006 National Junior Evaluation Camp Invitees

USA Hockey has released the list of 45 players invited to attend their 2006 National Junior Evaluation Camp in August. This camp will be used to select the team for the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship held from December 26, 2006-January 5, 2007.

Three 2006-2007 Wisconsin Badgers have been invited to the camp. They are forward Jack Skille, incoming forward Blake Geoffrion, and incoming defenseman Jamie McBain. Wisconsin recruit Patrick Kane is also on the list.

One player missing from the list that surprised me is Nigel Williams, although he may be young enough to play with the U-18's next year as he has accelerated his arrival to UW from 2007 to 2006. Possibly he will be considered as an addition to that team.

If any of the Badger players make the roster for the World Junior Championship team, they will miss the Badger Showdown, as well as potentially the series in Denver on January 5th and 6th.