Twenty-nine players, including five members of the bronze medal-winning 2018 U.S. National Junior Team, have been named to the preliminary roster for the 2019 U.S. National Junior Team. The announcement was made today by USA Hockey on NHL Network's "NHL Now" and the full roster can be seen here.

The group is auditioning for a spot on the final 23-player roster that will represent the United States in the 2019 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship from Dec. 26, 2018 - Jan. 5, 2019, in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia.

"As a staff, we've grown more and more excited about this player pool as we've gone through evaluations this fall and we're thrilled to have these 29 players coming to Everett next week," said John Vanbiesbrouck, assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey and the general manager of the 2019 U.S. National Junior Team. "The player pool is deeper than it has ever been, and that's credit to all the organizations and volunteers developing the next wave of U.S. hockey stars. I know Coach Hastings (U.S. Head Coach Mike Hastings) and his staff are excited to bring these players together as we begin the challenge of getting to a final roster that will give us the best chance to bring home a gold medal."