Yesterday we found out that two Buffalo Sabres prospects in Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn were named to the Canadian national team for the 2021 World Junior tournament. Today, we officially found out another prospect will compete in the competition.
Team USA announced their roster today and 2019 first-round pick Ryan Johnson was among those selected.
Introducing the 2021 U.S. National Junior Team! 🇺🇸#USAWJC | #WorldJuniors
Release: https://t.co/8gcJU0kyXj pic.twitter.com/tdXVe3j2MW
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) December 12, 2020
Johnson was considered a bubble player going into the season as a D+2 prospect. After his strong start at the University of Minnesota, he quickly moved off of the bubble. The Americans struggled with a slow defense at the tournament last year and bringing a quicker group to Edmonton this time around.
Johnson will be joined on the blue line by two of his Gopher teammates, including his defense partner. Brock Faber, a Los Angeles Kings draft pick, and Jackson LaCombe of the Anaheim Ducks are the two Minnesota teammates joining him.
Teams will head to the Edmonton bubble tomorrow and the tournament will drop the puck on December 25th. The Sabres will have a total of four prospects participating in Johnson, Cozens, Quinn, and John-Jason Peterka.
We’ll have full coverage of the tournament right here.