World Junior Hockey: Team Canada Named, Team USA Changed

Team Canada released six players this morning and announced its roster for the 2004 World Junior Hockey Championship. Meanwhile, Team USA has replaced a couple of injured players, including the man who might have been their number-one goalie.

The final Canadian cuts include Ian White, a standout defenseman from last year's team. Coaches concluded that White had not sufficiently recovered from a fractured ankle suffered in October.

Sydney Crosby has made the 22-man Team Canada roster. He becomes the fifth 16-year-old to play for Canada at the World Juniors, following Wayne Gretzky, Eric Lindros, Jason Spezza and Jay Bouwmeester.

With several top 19-year-olds playing in the NHL, Canada sends a young team to this year's tournament. The lineup includes 13 players who are 18 or under. Only two players return from the group that placed second in 2003. They are goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins and forward Brent Burns of the Minnesota Wild, both of whom were made available by their NHL teams.

Team USA, named December 8, has been forced to make changes due to injuries. Goaltender Jimmy Howard and defenseman Dylan Reese are out, replaced by Matt Hunwick on defense and Dominic Vicari in net. Howard played in three games at the 2003 World Junior Championship.

The updated roster (view here in .pdf or .doc formats) includes eight returnees from last year's fourth-place team, including defenseman Ryan Suter and forwards Patrick O'Sullivan, Zach Parise and Ryan Kesler.

The 2004 World Junior Hockey Championship takes place December 26 to January 5 in Helsinki and Hameenlinna, Finland.