The roster for the U.S. Olympic men’s ice hockey team was announced on Thursday, and among those selected were Blackhawks goaltender prospect Drew Commesso.
Introducing the 25 men headed to Beijing! 👏#WinterOlympics | @TeamUSA 🇺🇸
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) January 13, 2022
Of course, the honor will be Commesso’s first Olympic appearance being just 19 years old. However, Commesso is no stranger to representing his country on the international stage. Commesso, selected 46th overall by the Blackhawks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, came up through the U.S. National Team Development Program and wore the red, white and blue in the 2019 Under-17 World Junior Championships, 2021 World Championships and 2022 Under-20 World Junior Championships prior to their cancelation.
With the NHL pulling out from the Olympics, the rosters will look far different than originally anticipated, being comprised of college players, minor leaguers and European league players. The U.S. team features a solid mix of the categories, though many will be excited to see the youth on display, highlighted by four additional players who represented the U.S. at the 2022 Under-20 World Championships. Also of note for Chicago hockey fans are three former members of the Chicago Steel.
The U.S. roster is as follows:
Forwards
Nick Abruzzese — Harvard University (NCAA)
Kenny Agostino — Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL)
Matty Beniers — University of Michigan (NCAA)
Brendan Brisson — University of Michigan (NCAA)
Noah Cates — University of Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA)
Sean Farrell — Harvard University (NCAA)
Sam Hentges — St. Cloud State University (NCAA)
Matthew Knies — University of Minnesota (NCAA)
Marc McLaughlin — Boston College (NCAA)
Ben Meyers — University of Minnesota (NCAA)
Andy Miele — Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL)
Brian O’Neill — Jokerit (KHL)
Nick Shore — Sibir Novosibirsk (KHL)
Nathan Smith — Minnesota State University (NCAA)
Defensemen
Brian Cooper — IK Oskarshamn (SHL)
Brock Faber — University of Minnesota (NCAA)
Drew Helleson — Boston College (NCAA)
Steven Kampfer — Ak Bars Kazan (KHL)
Aaron Ness — Providence Bruins (AHL)
Nick Perbix — St. Cloud State University (NCAA)
Jake Sanderson — University of North Dakota (NCAA)
David Warsofsky — ERC Ingolstadt (DEL)
Goaltenders
Drew Commesso — Boston University (NCAA)
Strauss Mann — Skelleftea AIK (SHL)
Pat Nagle — Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL)
The Olympics begin on Feb. 3 in Beijing, China.