USA Prepares to Defend Its Title Against the World's Greatest Teenagers

To see the best hockey in the world this season, you might have to plan a Christmas vacation in Grand Forks, North Dakota or Thief River Falls, Minnesota.

That's where you will find the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championship. The annual showcase for players under the age of 20 is a holiday tradition. This year's tournament begins Christmas Day and peaks January 4 with the championship game in Grand Forks.

For the first time ever, the United States goes in as the defending champion, after winning the 2004 title with a thrilling comeback against Canada in the gold medal game.

The Team USA roster was named today. Among the notable players are scoring stars Robbie Schremp and Patrick O'Sullivan from the Ontario Hockey League, along with five players from the University of Michigan, including last year's world junior goalie, Al Montoya.

Team Canada has invited 33 players to next week's selection camp, from which a 22-man roster will be picked.

Canadians, who watch in huge numbers every year, know the World Junior Championship as a display of spectacular hockey talent. But the tournament has never been televised in the U.S., and that has not changed this year. So far, there is no TV deal to cover Team USA's defense of its world title.