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The United States team is set to defend its gold medal at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship in Malmo, Sweden. The first step to defending gold is picking the best possible team for the red, white and blue to put on the ice come December 26th.
USA Hockey has announced the roster and schedule for the 2013 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp to be held at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, NY from August 3-10. There will then be a pre-tournament camp in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area from December 15-18 at which time USA Hockey will determine the final roster.
University of Minnesota head coach Don Lucia will be the head coach of the team. His assistants will be St. Cloud State head coach Bob Motzko, Boston College associate coach Greg Brown and Denver assistant coach Dave Lassonde. Yale University goaltending coach Dan Muse will serve as the team's video coordinator.
Evaluation Camp Roster
| Player | Pos. | Hometown | 2012-13 Team | 2013-14 Team | NHL Rights |
| Thatcher Demko | G | San Diego, Calif. | USNTDP U-18 | Boston College | 2014 Eligible |
| Jon Gillies | G | South Portland, Maine | Providence College | Providence College | Calgary '12 |
| Collin Olson | G | Apple Valley, Minn. | Ohio State | Ohio State | Carolina '12 |
| Anthony Stolarz | G | Edison, NJ | London (OHL) | London Knights | Philadelphia '12 |
| Gage Ausmus | D | East Grand Forks, Minn. | USNTDP U-18 | Univ. of North Dakota | San Jose '13 |
| Dylan Blujus | D | Amherst, NY | Brampton (OHL) | Brampton Battalion | Tampa '12 |
| Michael Brodzinski | D | Ham Lake, Minn. | Muskegon (USHL) | Univ. of Minnesota | San Jose '13 |
| Will Butcher | D | Sun Prairie, Wis. | USNTDP U-18 | University of Denver | Colorado '13 |
| Connor Carrick | D | Orland Park, Ill. | Plymouth (OHL) | Plymouth Whalers | Washington '12 |
| Connor Clifton | D | Matawan, NJ | USNTDP U-18 | Quinnipiac University | Phoenix '13 |
| Anthony DeAngelo | D | Sewell, NJ | Sarnia (OHL) | Sarnia Sting | 2014 Eligible |
| Nick Ebert | D | Livingston, NJ | Windsor (OHL) | Windsor Spitfires | Los Angeles '12 |
| Matthew Grzelcyk | D | Charlestown, Mass. | Boston University | Boston University | Boston '12 |
| Ian McCoshen | D | Hudson, Wis. | Waterloo (USHL) | Boston College | Florida '13 |
| Brett Pesce | D | Tarrytown, NJ | U. New Hampshire | U. New Hampshire | Carolina '13 |
| Steve Santini | D | Mahopac, NY | USNTDP U-18 | Boston College | New Jersey '13 |
| Patrick Sieloff | D | Ann Arbor, Mich. | Windsor (OHL) | Windsor Spitfires | Calgary '12 |
| Brady Skjei | D | Lakeville, Minn. | Univ. of Minnesota | Univ. of Minnesota | NYR '12 |
| Keaton Thompson | D | Devils Lake, ND | USNTDP U-18 | Univ. of North Dakota | Anaheim '13 |
| Thomas Vannelli | D | Minnetonka, Minn. | USNTDP U-18 | Univ. of Minnesota | St. Louis '13 |
| Justin Bailey | F | Buffalo, NY | Kitchener (OHL) | Kitchener Rangers | Buffalo '13 |
| Riley Barber | F | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Miami University | Miami University | Washington '12 |
| Taylor Cammarata | F | Plymouth, Minn. | Waterloo (USHL) | Univ. of Minnesota | NYI '13 |
| J.T. Compher | F | Northbrook, Ill. | USNTDP U-18 | Univ. of Michigan | Buffalo '13 |
| Andrew Copp | F | Ann Arbor, Mich. | Univ. of Michigan | Univ. of Michigan | Winnipeg '13 |
| Tommy DiPauli | F | Woodbridge, Ill. | Univ. of Notre Dame | Univ. of Notre Dame | Washington '12 |
| Adam Erne | F | New Haven, Conn. | Quebec (QMJHL) | Quebec Remparts | Tampa '13 |
| Hudson Fasching | F | Burnsville, Minn. | USNTDP U-18 | Univ. of Minnesota | Los Angeles '13 |
| Jake Guentzel | F | Woodbury, Minn. | Sioux City (USHL) | Nebraska-Omaha | Pittsburgh '13 |
| John Hayden | F | Greenwich, Conn. | USNTDP U-18 | Yale University | Chicago '13 |
| Vince Hinostroza | F | Bartlett, Ill. | Waterloo (USHL) | Univ. of Notre Dame | Chicago '12 |
| Nicolas Kerdiles | F | Irvine, Calif. | Univ. of Wisconsin | Univ. of Wisconsin | Anaheim '12 |
| Matt Lane | F | Rochester, NY | Boston University | Boston University | 2014 Eligible |
| Jimmy Lodge | F | Downington, Pa. | Saginaw (OHL) | Saginaw Spirit | Winnipeg '13 |
| Stefan Matteau | F | Chicago, Ill. | Blainville (QMJHL) | Blainville Armada | New Jersey '12 |
| Michael McCarron | F | Macomb, Mich. | USNTDP U-18 | London Knights (OHL) | Montreal '13 |
| Tyler Motte | F | St. Claire, Mich. | USNTDP U-18 | Univ. of Michigan | Chicago '13 |
| Cristoval Nieves | F | Baldwinsville, NY | Univ. of Michigan | Univ. of Michigan | NYR '12 |
| Dan O'Regan | F | Needham, Mass. | Boston University | Boston University | San Jose '12 |
| Henrik Samuelsson | F | Scottsdale, Ariz. | Edmonton (WHL) | Edmonton Oil Kings | Phoenix '12 |
| Quentin Shore | F | Denver, Colo. | Univ. of Denver | Univ. of Denver | Ottawa '13 |
| Zach Stepan | F | Hastings, Minn. | Waterloo (USHL) | Minnesota State | Nashville '12 |
| Domici Toninato | F | Duluth, Minn. | Fargo Force (USHL) | Minnesota-Duluth | Toronto '12 |
| Brady Vail | F | Palm City, Fla. | Windsor (OHL) | Windsor Spitfires | Montreal '12 |
Schedule of Practices/Games
| Saturday, August 3 | 9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. | USA Blue Practice |
| 10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. | USA White Practice | |
| 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Sweden Practice | |
| 12:45 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. | Finland Practice | |
| 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. | USA White/Blue Practice | |
| Sunday, August 4 | 8:15 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. | Sweden Practice |
| 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. | USA Blue Practice | |
| 9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. | Finland Practice | |
| 1:00 p.m. | USA White vs. Sweden | |
| 4:00 p.m. | USA Blue vs. Finland | |
| Monday, August 5 | 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. | USA White Practice |
| 9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. | Finland Practice | |
| 1:00 p.m. | USA Blue vs. Sweden | |
| 4:00 p.m. | USA White vs. Finland | |
| Tuesday, August 6 | 9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. | Sweden Practice |
| 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon | USA Practice | |
| 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. | Finland Practice | |
| 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. | Canada Practice | |
| Wednesday, August 7 | 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. | Sweden Practice |
| 9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. | USA Practice | |
| 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. | Finland/Canada Practice | |
| 1:00 p.m. | Canada vs. Finland | |
| 4:15 p.m. | USA vs. Sweden | |
| Thursday, August 8 | 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. | Sweden Practice |
| 9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. | Canada Practice | |
| 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. | USA/Finland Practice | |
| 1:00 p.m. | USA vs. Finland | |
| 4:15 p.m. | Canada vs. Sweden | |
| Friday, August 9 | 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Finland Practice |
| 10:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. | USA Practice | |
| 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Canada Practice | |
| 12:45 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. | Sweden Practice | |
| Saturday, August 10 | 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. | Finland Practice |
| 9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. | Sweden Practice | |
| 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. | USA/Canada Practice | |
| 1:00 p.m. | Sweden vs. Finland | |
| 4:15 p.m. | USA vs. Canada |
Jeff Cox is a hockey reporter for SBNation. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.