MSU freshman center Jim Slater, a Lapeer native, will play for the United States at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic later this month.
Consequently, MSU’s scoring leader will miss the Great Lakes Invitational on Dec. 28-29 and MSU’s home series against Quinnipiac on Jan. 4-5.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to play for the USA and wear the red, white and blue,” Slater said Wednesday night. “It’s quite an honor to be one of the 20 best players in the country for your age.
“And, with it being my draft year, hopefully it can put my stock up a little bit.”
The Junior Championship runs from Dec. 25 to Jan. 4 in Pardubice and Hradec, Czech Republic.
Freshman defenseman Duncan Keith also could take part in the Junior Championship. He has been invited to camp for Canada’s national junior team and will compete with 35 other players for the team’s 22 roster spots next week.
The U.S. team will convene in Ann Arbor on Dec. 16 for a three-day training camp before heading to Switzerland for two exhibition games.
The Junior Championship starts on Christmas Day as the U.S. team plays the Czech Republic and Canada takes on France.
“My parents are going too, so I guess we’ll have Christmas before we leave,” said Slater, who has six goals and 10 assists for a team-best 16 points this season.
