Bellows, Tkachuk named to All-American Game roster

Forwards Kieffer Bellows, Matthew Tkachuk and Alex DeBrincat are among the top 2016 NHL Draft prospects who have been invited to play in the 2015 CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game.

The game, which will feature 42 of the top draft-eligible American-born players, will be played Sept. 24 at First Niagara Center in Buffalo.

"This game provides the best U.S. players eligible for next year's NHL draft the opportunity to showcase their skills on a national stage," said Jim Johannson, USA Hockey's assistant executive director of hockey operations.

Center Auston Matthews, considered the front-runner to be the first pick of the 2016 draft, was not invited to the game. He is playing this season with ZSC in Switzerland's top professional league; their season starts Sept. 9.

Bellows, a 6-foot, 198-pound center, will play for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program this season and is committed to Boston University for the 2016-17 season.

Last season with Sioux Falls, Bellows was fifth in the United States Hockey League with 33 goals and was named USHL Rookie of the Year. He had 52 points in 58 regular-season games, and nine goals and 12 points in 12 playoff games.

Tkachuk, a 6-foot, 188-pound left wing, will play for London of the Ontario Hockey League this season. Playing with the NTDP last season, Tkachuk had 38 goals and 96 points in 65 games. He also had a tournament-high 10 assists in seven games to help the United States win the gold medal at the 2015 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

DeBrincat, a 5-foot-6, 150-pound center with Erie of the OHL, led OHL rookies with 51 goals, 53 assists and 104 points. He was named the rookie of the year in the OHL and the Canadian Hockey League.

Among the defensemen selected was Chad Krys of the NTDP. The 5-foot-10, 182-pound left-shot defender had 20 points in 22 games with the NTDP Under-18 team last season after starting with the U-17 team. He also had five points and a plus-9 rating in seven games at the World U-18 Championship. Krys will play for the NTDP U-18 team full-time this season and is committed to Boston University for 2016-17.

Evan Sarthou (6-foot-1, 179) of Tri-City of the Western Hockey League was one of four goaltenders named to the roster. He had a 3.10 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 28 WHL games last season. Playing for the U.S. at the World U-18 Championship, he had a 1.15 GAA and .927 save percentage in five games.

Players for the game were selected by USA Hockey in conjunction with NHL Central Scouting.

CCM/USA HOCKEY ALL-AMERICAN PROSPECTS GAME ROSTER

GOALIES: Stephen Dhillon, Niagara (OHL); Ryan Edquist, Madison (USHL); Tyler Parsons, London (OHL); Evan Sarthou, Tri-City (WHL)

DEFENSEMEN: Michael Campoli, USA U-18 (USHL); Derek Daschke, Cedar Rapids (USHL); Mitch Eliot, Muskegon (USHL); Adam Fox, USA U-18 (USHL); Ben Gleason, London (OHL); Alex Green, Muskegon (USHL); J.D. Greenway, USA U-18 (USHL); Chad Krys, USA U-18 (USHL); Ryan Lindgren, USA U-18 (USHL); Griffin Luce, USA U-18 (USHL); Charlie McAvoy, Boston University (HE); Luke McInnis, Youngstown (USHL); Andrew Peeke, Green Bay (USHL); Sam Rossini, Waterloo (USHL)

FORWARDS: Joey Anderson, USA U-18 (USHL); Kieffer Bellows, USA U-18 (USHL); Logan Brown, Windsor (OHL); Alex DeBrincat, Erie (OHL); Matt Filipe, Cedar Rapids (USHL); Trent Frederic, USA U-18 (USHL); Tim Gettinger, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL); Max Jones, London (OHL); Clayton Keller, USA U-18 (USHL); Luke Kirwan, Windsor (OHL); William Knierim, Dubuque (USHL); Jack Kopacka, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL); Luke Kunin, Wisconsin (BIG10); William Lockwood, USA U-18 (USHL); Mitchell Mattson, Bloomington (USHL); Graham McPhee, USA U-18 (USHL); Nick Pastujov, USA U-18 (USHL); Drake Rymsha, London (OHL); James Sanchez, USA U-18 (USHL); Keenan Suthers, USA U-18 (USHL); Tage Thompson, Connecticut (HE); Matthew Tkachuk, London (OHL); Riley Tufte, Fargo (USHL); Garrett Wait, Waterloo (USHL)