New York Rangers prospects K’Andre Miller and Zac Jones will both hit the ice for Team USA in the World Junior Championships.
The New York Rangers will have two prospects, K’Andre Miller and Zac Jones, in the lineup when Team USA battles Team Canada in the team’s first game of the preliminary round of the World Junior Championship on Thursday.
Team USA finalized its roster earlier in the week, and to no surprise, Miller and Jones were both named to the squad.
The 2020 Team USA club will compete in Group B alongside Russia, Canada, Czech Republic and Germany.
For Miller and Jones, the WJC will be another tournament where the two youngsters can display their skills on the world stage. Team USA will go head-to-head against their biggest rival, Team Canada, for the first time in over a year.
On Tuesday, Miller was named as an alternate captain along with New York Islanders prospect Oliver Wahlstrom. Mattias Samuelsson was named the captain of the 2020 Team USA WJC club.
The 2020 U.S. National Junior Team has been announced! #USAWJC ??
Details → https://t.co/iG76eESDz1 pic.twitter.com/TxPjNIoq0e
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) December 23, 2019
For Miller, this was an important step for his progress towards an NHL career with the Rangers. His leadership skills will now be at the forefront of a successful run for a gold medal.
Team USA enters the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship having won four-straight medals in tournament play for the first time in history. In addition to its silver medal in 2019, team USA has won one gold medal (2017) and two bronze medals (2016, 2018) in that span.
The 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship is being held in Ostrava and Trinec, the Czech Republic, this year.
Television coverage will be provided by the NHL Network on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Aside from Miller and Jones, the Rangers will have three other prospects representing their countries in the tournament. Nils Lundkvist (SWE), Karl Henriksson (SWE) and Nico Gross (SUI) will also all be attempting to bring home the gold medal for their respective countries.
