Thomas Bordeleau, Sean Behrens Off US World Juniors Camp Roster; Jack Peart Added

USA Hockey announced a few changes to their World Juniors preliminary roster ahead of the team’s first official practice on Monday.

Michigan forward Thomas Bordeleau and Denver defenseman Sean Behrens are no longer listed on the camp roster, while St. Cloud State defenseman Jack Peart has been added to the roster.

Both of the drops are likely injury-related. Bordeleau did not play for Michigan this past weekend, though as of two days ago, Michigan head coach Mel Pearson still seemed to expect Bordeleau to attend the camp. His absence is especially heart-breaking, not just because he was a lock for the team, but also because he would have been a lock to make last year’s gold medal-winning squad, before a close Covid contact knocked him out of the tournament.

Behrens also missed Denver’s two games this past weekend against Minnesota Duluth. While extremely disappointing for him personally, it’s not as big of a loss from the US perspective. Behrens was likely to be more of a fringe player for the US defensive group, and Peart fills a similar role.

If there is good news for the US, it’s that North Dakota defenseman Jake Sanderson, likely to be the team’s top player, is still listed on the roster. Sanderson also missed last weekend’s games with an injury, but North Dakota head coach Brad Berry expected him to be ready for the tournament.