Several Jets survive U.S. National Junior team cut
Several Winnipeg Jets prospects survived the first cut of the U.S. National junior evaluation camp in Lake Placid, New York.
Forwards Kyle Connor, Jack Roslovic and Eric Foley are all still competing for a spot on the team.
Team USA cut the roster down to 18 forwards, 10 defensemen and four goaltenders yesterday. Arizona Coyotes forwards Ryan MacInnis, Christian Fischer and Conor Garland, Minnesota Wild forward Jordan Greenway, Nashville Predators defenseman Jack Dougherty and New Jersey Devils defenseman Josh Jacobs were all cut from the team.
Team USA was broken up into two teams, Team Blue and Team White, prior to the first round of cuts. Team White lost to Team Blue in the opening game 4-3, but beat both Finland and Sweden 5-2 and 10-4, respectively. Team Blue has lost its two match ups to Sweden and Finland, 5-2 and 10-3, respectively.
Connor, drafted in this year's first round with the 17th overall pick, has two assists in three games for Team Blue. Connor, committed to the University of Michigan next season, played for Team USA in the Under-18 World Junior Championship, finishing with four goals and three assists in seven games. Connor scored 34 goals and 46 points in 56 games for the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL last season. Connor led all of the USHL in points.
Roslovic, drafted with the first round with the 25th overall pick in this year's draft, has a goal and two assists in three games for Team White. Roslovic also represented the United States in the Under-18 World Junior Championship last year, finishing with six goals and five assists in seven games. Roslovic, who played for the U.S. National Under-18 team last season with the US Development Program, recorded 27 goals and 53 assists in 65 games, good for fourth on the team in points. Roslovic is committed to Miami University (Ohio) next season.
Foley has two goals in three games for Team Blue in the evaluation camp. Drafted with the 78th overall pick in the third round of this year's draft, Foley is committed to Providence College next season. Foley played in the USHL for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, scoring 27 goals and 27 assists in 55 games, finishing 15th in the league in scoring. Foley was a participant for Team USA in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, scoring two goals and recording one assist in five games last year.
Winnipeg Jets prospect Sami Niku is also participating in the evaluation camp with Team Finland. The defenseman hasn't recorded a point yet in his two games. Niku was drafted in this year's seventh round with the 198th overall pick.
The evaluation games continue today, when USA plays Finland at 4:00 PM EDT. USA will play Sweden on Thursday and Friday before playing Finland again on Saturday.
