Washington Capitals defensive prospect Ryan Chesley has been selected for Team USA’s preliminary roster for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, which begins in late December.
The 18-year-old has been chosen for the selection camp and is not officially on the roster, but it’s an encouraging sign for the Capitals’ second-round pick (#37 overall) from the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Team USA will cut the roster to 23 players before the start of the tournament.
Introducing the preliminary roster for the 2023 U.S. National Junior Team! 🇺🇸 #WorldJuniors
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) December 5, 2022
Team USA training camp will run from Dec. 12-17 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich., leading up to a pair of exhibition games against Finland (Dec. 19) and Sweden (Dec. 21). The 32 players named to the preliminary roster are vying for the 23 spots that will represent Team USA.
Prospect analyst Chris Peters said Chesley will “likely” make the final roster, hinting the young defenseman is a “very strong” candidate for Team USA’s blueline.
Chesley is a 6’-0″ right-shot defenseman in his debut season with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Men’s team. A native of Mahtomedi, Minnesota, he had stints with Shattuck-St. Mary’s Development program and the United States National Team Development Program, with whom he recorded 44 points in 85 games played with the U.S. Development team and National Under-18 Team.
In August, he spoke about his experience during the Capitals’ prospect development camp, calling it a “fun week.” “It’s been awesome getting here, getting to know the guys, getting to know the staff, and getting on the ice with them…I knew it was going to be a hard time here, just a lot of work, it’s been a grind so far, but it’s been fun. A lot of the on-ice stuff has been challenging, which is good. I think it’s really helpful.”
The 47th edition of the Championship is scheduled to be held from December 26, 2022, through January 5, 2023, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. The 10-nation tournament features the world’s best men’s players under 20 years of age and is a 31-game event that takes place over the course of 10 days.
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By Della Young
Go get em Ryno!
Cant wait for world juniors.
Looking forward to watching him and other prospects in December/January..