Ambroz, '10 picks to lead U.S. at Junior 'A' tourney

Six players chosen in the 2010 Entry Draft will make up the 22-player roster for the U.S. Junior Select Team that hopes to defend its title at the World Junior 'A' Challenge in Penticton, B.C., next month.

All of the players selected to the team currently are competing in the United States Hockey League, the nation's only Tier 1 junior hockey league. P.K. O'Handley, coach and general manager of the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks, will serve as coach.

The list includes Sioux City right wing Max Gaede, a third-round pick of the Sharks; Fargo center James Mullin, a fourth-round pick of the Lightning; Sioux City center Caleb Herbert, who was taken in the fifth round by the Capitals; Cedar Rapids right wing Michael Parks, a fifth-round pick of the Flyers; Fargo goaltender Zane Gothberg, a sixth-round pick of the Bruins; and Indiana defenseman Nick Mattson, a sixth-round pick of the Blackhawks.

Additionally, Omaha Lancers third-year forward Seth Ambroz, a likely candidate to be selected in the first round of the 2011 Entry Draft, will be on the team. Ambroz is one of three players, along with Cason Hohmann and Brian Cooper, to play for the 2010 U.S. Under-18 Select Team that competed at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Slovakia and the Czech Republic in August.

The World Junior 'A' Challenge, which includes teams from Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and two from Canada, will be held Nov. 8-14 at the South Okanagan Events Centre. The U.S. team, which includes a roster of 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies, will face Canada West in an exhibition game Nov. 6 before beginning tournament play against Canada East on Nov. 8.

The U.S. team, which will be participating in the tournament for a fourth straight year, has won the championship the past two years. O'Handley last coached the U.S. in 2007, when it finished third.

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