Notre Dame sophomore Anders Bjork and freshman Christian Fischer will have an opportunity to join 18 of their Irish hockey predecessors on the global stage. The pair were announced by USA Hockey today as two of the 39 invitees to its upcoming National Junior Evaluation Camp for a chance on a roster spot at the 2016 World Junior Championships.
The camp will be held August 1-8 in Lake Placid, New York, with the 39 invitees being pared down during the week to a final squad which will represent America at the prestigious annual global competition, this year to be held from Dec. 26, 2015, to Jan. 5, 2016, in Helsinki, Finland.
The Irish have regularly been represented at the global showcase event by their student-athletes, most recently Thomas DiPauli and Vince Hinostroza in 2014. In all, 18 Irish skaters have represented the United States in the event while Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson lead Team USA at the World Juniors in 1996-00, guiding the Americans to a silver medal in 1996-1997 as the head coach.
Bjork, a fifth round draft pick of the Boston Bruins in 2014, recently completed a steady freshman season for the Irish, skating in 41 of the team’s 42 games and accumulating 22 points on seven goals and 15 assists. His 15 assists ranked fifth on the Irish while Bjork’s 22 points stood sixth among his teammates.
Fischer, a second round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2015, spent this past winter in Michigan skating for the U.S. National Team Development Program. Fischer skated in 66 games this past winter for the team and recorded 65 points on 31 goals and 34 assists.
The 2015-16 Notre Dame hockey season starts off with an exhibition game against the University of Guelph on Oct. 9 at the Compton Family Ice Arena with the regular season opener coming on Oct. 16 at Penn State.
The camp will be held August 1-8 in Lake Placid, New York, with the 39 invitees being pared down during the week to a final squad which will represent America at the prestigious annual global competition, this year to be held from Dec. 26, 2015, to Jan. 5, 2016, in Helsinki, Finland.
The Irish have regularly been represented at the global showcase event by their student-athletes, most recently Thomas DiPauli and Vince Hinostroza in 2014. In all, 18 Irish skaters have represented the United States in the event while Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson lead Team USA at the World Juniors in 1996-00, guiding the Americans to a silver medal in 1996-1997 as the head coach.
Bjork, a fifth round draft pick of the Boston Bruins in 2014, recently completed a steady freshman season for the Irish, skating in 41 of the team’s 42 games and accumulating 22 points on seven goals and 15 assists. His 15 assists ranked fifth on the Irish while Bjork’s 22 points stood sixth among his teammates.
Fischer, a second round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2015, spent this past winter in Michigan skating for the U.S. National Team Development Program. Fischer skated in 66 games this past winter for the team and recorded 65 points on 31 goals and 34 assists.
The 2015-16 Notre Dame hockey season starts off with an exhibition game against the University of Guelph on Oct. 9 at the Compton Family Ice Arena with the regular season opener coming on Oct. 16 at Penn State.
