CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. — USA Hockey has finalized its roster for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, selecting Sam Lipkin (Fr., Quinnipiac) to represent the United States at the renowned and prestigious international competition.

Lipkin currently leads all freshmen in the ECAC in points and assists with 19 and 14, respectively, in 18 games. One of his most offensively productive performance this season came in a 4-0 win at Yale on November 12, when he added helpers on each Bobcat goal and finished the game with four assists. Since then, Lipkin has made a name for himself among rookies and among veterans as an established playmaker, finishing his most recent game with five points (one goal and four assists) in the team’s 8-1 defeat of Union at home on December 10. 

Joining Lipkin in Canada for the tournament is Rand Pecknold (head coach, Quinnipiac), who will be reprising his role as head coach of Team USA, along with assistant Reid Cashman (head coach, Dartmouth) and video coach Shawn Roche (video coach, Quinnipiac). Rob Kennedy (equipment manager, Quinnipiac) and Sean Schmidt (equipment manager, Cornell) will also be joining Team USA in Canada in their same roles. 

The 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship will be hosted in Moncton, New Brunswick, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, from December 26, 2022, to January 5, 2023. Team USA last won gold in 2021, and has thirteen medals (including five gold, two silver, six bronze) in its trophy case, and will officially start the hunt for another gold medal on Monday, December 26, in a preliminary round game against Latvia. All games are available to stream on NHL Network.