Jun. 29—Tyler Kleven had an interesting path to the World Junior Championship last year.
The UND defenseman wasn’t originally picked to be on the U.S. team. But after a couple of players tested positive for the coronavirus, he was a last-minute call.
After a game against Western Michigan in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Pod in Omaha, he hurriedly packed up his stuff, got a ride to the airport and flew off to join the team at barely a moment’s notice.
Kleven played a limited role on the American team, but came away with a gold medal along with his UND teammate Jake Sanderson, who figured prominently for the U.S.
This year, the route to the World Juniors will be a little more conventional for Sanderson and Kleven. It will begin with USA Hockey’s World Junior Championship Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Mich., from July 24-31. It was revealed Monday that both are scheduled to participate in the camp.
The summer camp is generally used as an evaluation period to help pick the final roster. Performance in the first half of the season also will be monitored and used to select the final roster, which will be announced in early December.
Based on their presence with last year’s gold-medal winning team, both are good bets to be on the team again this year, but it’s not guaranteed.
UND incoming freshman defenseman Brent Johnson, a potential second- or third-round NHL Draft pick in July, did not make the roster for the summer showcase, but Johnson also wouldn’t have been able to participate. Due to shoulder surgery this spring, Johnson will be cleared to skate in July but won’t be cleared for contact until August.
A total of 44 players will attend the camp, including 24 forwards, 16 defensemen and four goaltenders.
The World Junior Championship, featuring the best under-20 players in the world, will be played Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta.
Last season, the World Juniors conflicted with the NCHC’s pandemic-altered schedule, forcing Sanderson and Kleven to miss seven of the 24 regular-season games, nearly 30 percent.
But this year, it’s possible that Sanderson and Kleven won’t miss any regular-games. The World Junior squad will get together after UND’s Dec. 10-11 series at Colorado College. The next regular-season games are scheduled for Jan. 7-8 against Cornell in Ralph Engelstad Arena.
UND only has an exhibition game scheduled against the U.S. Under-18 Team in between.
Sanderson and Kleven are expected to play significant roles for UND this season after the NHL signings of defensemen Matt Kiersted (Florida Panthers) and Jacob Bernard-Docker (Ottawa Senators).
Sanderson, of Whitefish, Mont., had 15 points in 22 games as a rookie and was particularly dominant after returning from the World Junior Championship last season. The No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Sanderson opted to come back to UND for his sophomore season rather than sign with the Ottawa Senators, who will retain his rights.
Kleven, a second-round Ottawa pick in 2020, had five goals and seven points in 22 games as a rookie. The physically punishing defender from Fargo is likely to see a big increase in minutes.
The other NCHC players invited to the summer camp are Denver freshman defensemen Shai Buium and Sean Behrens, Denver freshman forward Carter Mazur, Minnesota Duluth sophomore defensemen Wyatt Kaiser and Connor Kelley, St. Cloud State freshman defenseman Jack Peart, Omaha freshman forward Cameron Berg and Miami freshman forward Red Savage.