Dec. 5, 2007
Colorado Springs, Colo. – Notre Dame freshman defenseman Ian Cole (Ann Arbor, Mich.) has been selected to the 22-man U.S. Junior National Team roster that will compete in the World Junior Championships later this month. The tournament will be held from Dec. 26, 2006 through Jan. 5, 2007 in Pardubice and Liberec, Czech Republic and features the top hockey players in the world under the age of 20.
Cole becomes the 11th Notre Dame hockey player to play for the U.S. Junior National team and follows current Irish defenseman Kyle Lawson (So., New Hudson, Mich.) who was a member of the bronze medal winning team in January of 2007. Other Irish players to play for the United States include: Jack Brownschidle (`76-’77, `78-’79), Ben Simon (`96-’97, `97-’98), Joe Dusbabek (`97-’98), Dan Carlson (`98-’99), Connor Dunlop (`99-’00, `00-’01), Brett Henning (`99-’00), David Inman (`99-’00), Rob Globke (`00-’01, `01-’02) and Brett Lebda (`01-’02).
“This is an incredible honor to be chosen for this team and to have the ability to represent your country,” said Cole. “This team and playing for your country, in my opinion, is one of the biggest honors that USA Hockey can bestow upon you.”
The freshman blueliner added, “I’m very excited to get together with the team and start building that chemistry and preparing to be the best team we can be and hopefully bring home a medal.”
A first round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues, Cole was a member of the U.S. National Team Developmental Program from 2005-07 where he played for the U.S. Under-17 and Under-18 teams. With the Under-18 team last April, he was selected as one of Team USA’s top three players at the Under-18 World Championships.
With Notre Dame this season, Cole has played a regular role on the Irish blue line; helping the Irish to a 14-4-0 start this season, first place in the CCHA with a 10-2-0 record and a national ranking of sixth in the nation. In 18 games this season, Cole has scored two goals and added four assists for six points to tie for third among Irish defensemen in scoring. He has one power-play goal and is -1 on the year with 18 minutes in penalties. He will miss four regular-season games for the Irish while playing in the World Junior Championships – two games at the Lightning College Hockey Classic in Tampa, Fla. (Dec. 29-30) and a pair of CCHA road games at Northern Michigan (Jan. 4-5).
The 6-1, 215-pound defenseman is one of five players from the CCHA on the team, joining goaltender Joe Palmer (Ohio State), fellow defenseman Chris Summers (Michigan) and forwards Max Pacioretty and Matt Rust of Michigan. In all, 17 players from Division I schools, led by four from the University of Minnesota, make up the team. Teams from the National Hockey League already have drafted 20 of the players selected while one is draft eligible this year and one in 2009.
The U.S. Team will play a pair of exhibition games prior to the tournament – one on Dec. 18 at Western Michigan and one on Dec. 22 against the Czech Republic in Ceska Trebova, Czech Republic before opening pool play on Dec. 26 against Kazakhstan. The U.S. is in the same pool with Kazakhstan, Switzerland (Dec. 28), Russia (Dec. 29) and Finland (Dec. 31). The quarterfinals will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 2, the semifinals are on Friday, Jan. 4 and the Gold/Bronze Medal Games are on Saturday, Jan. 5.
2008 U.S. JUNIOR NATIONAL TEAM
Goaltenders (2)No. Name Ht. Wt. DOB R/L Hometown/Current Team34 Joe Palmer 6-1 205 2/19/88 L Yorkville, N.Y./Ohio State (CCHA)30 Jeremy Smith 6-0 167 4/13/88 L Brownstown, Mich./Plymouth (OHL)DEFENSEMEN (8)No. Name Ht. Wt. DOB R/L Hometown/Current Team24 Jonathan Blum 6-1 177 1/30/89 R Rancho Margarita, Calif./Vancouver (WHL)28 Ian Cole 6-1 217 2/21/89 L Ann Arbor, Mich./Notre Dame (CCHA)27 Cade Fairchild 5-10 184 1/15/89 L Duluth, Minn./Minnesota (WCHA)4 Jamie McBain # 6-1 195 2/25/88 R Faribault, Minn./Wisconsin (WCHA)23 Kevin Montgomery 6-1 190 4/4/88 L Rochester, N.Y./London (OHL)20 Bobby Sanguinetti 6-1 188 2/29/88 R Lumberton, N.J./Brampton (OHL)7 Brian Strait 6-1 207 1/4/88 L Waltham, Mass./Boston University (HEA)16 Chris Summers 6-2 188 2/5/88 L Milan, Mich./Michigan (CCHA)FORWARDS (12)No. Name Ht. Wt. DOB R/L Hometown/Current Team19 Mike Carman # 6-0 187 4/14/88 L Apple Valley, Minn./Minnesota (WCHA)22 Ryan Flynn 6-3 211 3/22/88 R Lino Lakes, Minn./Minnesota (WCHA)5 Blake Geoffrion # 6-1 189 2/3/88 L Brentwood, Tenn./Wisconsin (WCHA)9 Kyle Okposo # 6-0 200 4/16/88 R St. Paul, Minn./Minnesota (WCHA)17 Max Pacioretty 6-2 213 11/20/88 L New Canaan, Conn./Michigan (CCHA)10 Rhett Rakhshani 5-11 175 3/6/88 R Huntington Beach, Calif./Denver (WCHA)15 Tyler Ruegsegger 5-11 193 1/19/88 R Lakewood, Colo./Denver (WCHA)11 Matt Rust 5-10 193 3/23/89 L Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Michigan (CCHA)29 Jordan Schroeder 5-8 165 9/29/90 R Prior Lake, Minn./US Under-18 Team21 Bill Sweatt # 6-0 180 9/21/88 L Elburn, Ill./Colorado College (WCHA)12 James vanRiemsdyk # 6-3 211 5/4/89 L Middletown, N.J./New Hampshire (HEA)33 Colin Wilson 6-1 215 10/20/89 L Greenwich, Conn./Boston University (HEA)
#2007 U.S. National Junior Team Member