Sophomore defenseman Sean Lorenz joins incoming freshman Kyle Palmieri as Notre Dame players invited to the 2009 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp this August.

Two Current Irish Hockey Players Invited To U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp

June 16, 2009

Colorado Springs, Colo. – Two members of the 2009-10 Notre Dame hockey team are among a group of 43 hockey players that have been invited to attend the 2009 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp that will be held at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y., from August 7 through 15. All participating players are candidates for the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship, Dec. 26, 2009 to Jan. 5, 2010, that will be held in Saskatoon and Regina, Sask.

Attending the camp from August 7-15 are sophomore defensemen Sean Lorenz (Littleton, Colo.) and incoming freshman forward Kyle Palmieri (Montvale, N.J.). Both players are products of USA Hockey’s National Team Developmental Program. Both players participated in the 2008 Evaluation Camp but did not move on to the national team.

The camp will feature practices, three games between U.S. split squads and four games against Russia. The first intrasquad scrimmages are set for Friday, August 7th at 7:00 p.m. while the first gave versus Russia will be played on Tuesday, August 11th at 6:00 p.m.

Lorenz is a 6-1, 192-pound defenseman who was a regular on the Notre Dame blue line in 2008-09. A rugged, stay-at-home defender, he played in all 40 games, recording three assists while picking up nine penalties for 18 minutes. He was +7 overall on a team that was 31-6-3 overall and won the CCHA regular-season and playoff championships. Lorenz spent two seasons with the U.S. National Team Developmental Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., from 2006-08. With the Under-18 team in `07-’08, he played in 57 games, scoring four goals with five assists for nine points with 24 minutes in penalties. He was a member of the bronze medal winning United States team at the IIHF Under-18 World Championships in the spring of 2008, recording a +5 rating in seven games. Lorenz was selected in the fourth round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, 115th overall by the Minnesota Wild.

Palmieri will join the Notre Dame roster this fall as a 5-10, 193-pound right wing who spent the 2008-09 season with the USA Hockey National Team Developmental Program’s Under-18 team where he played 33 games, scoring 15 goals with 15 assists for 30 points with 51 penalty minutes. Three of his goals came on the power play with one short-handed and four game winners. In `07-’08 with the Under-17 team, the New Jersey native had 29 goals and 19 assists for 48 points. At the Four Nations Tournament in Nov. of 2007, Palmieri had two goals and two assists for four points with both goals being game winners. He is one of 12 players invited to the camp who played last season for the U.S. Under-18 team. A dynamic, all-around player with outstanding hockey instincts, Palmieri was invited to the NHL’s pre-draft combine in early June. He was ranked 20th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s Final Draft Rankings and is a potential first round selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Last winter, defensemen Ian Cole (Jr., Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Teddy Ruth (Jr., Naperville, Ill.) were selected to the U.S. Junior National Team that finished fifth at the World Junior Championships. For Cole, it was his second appearance while Ruth was making his first. Notre Dame has had 12 players play in the World Junior Championships since 1976.