Dubuque to Represent USHL at Junior Club World Cup

The Dubuque Fighting Saints will be the USHL's representative at the Junior Club World Cup this year, which will be held in Omsk, Russia.

The tournament brings together some of the top clubs in Europe, as well as a USHL and OHL representative. Last year, the Waterloo Blackhawks participated and finished runner-up to the OHL's Sudbury Wolves. For the second straight year, the USHL team and OHL team--Sudbury again--will be in opposite groups, meaning a potential USHL/CHL battle would not take place until the medal round.

Dubuque is coming off a year where they won the USHL's Clark Cup, though with the tournament taking place in late August, they'll have to replace a number of key players off that championship team that are moving on to NCAA hockey. It will also be interesting to see what happens with Dubuque's Seamus Malone, a '96-born that will have to choose between participating in this tournament, and a likely roster spot with the US Ivan Hlinka tournament team. Last year, '95-born prospects Ian McCoshen and Taylor Cammarata opted to participate in this tournament with Waterloo rather than with the Hlinka team, to the chagrin of USA Hockey.