WELCOME TO FINLAND
The U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team traveled to Amsterdam on Wednesday where they connected to Helenski, Finland. Upon arrival, they traveled straight to the rink for a quick 20-minute skate. “We have a really nice setup here in Finland,” said U.S. National Under-18 Team member Owen Lindmark (Naperville, Ill.). “We are staying at the Finnish Olympic training center from Vancouver 2010. “We got right off the plane yesterday bussed straight to the rink for a little skate which was great to get the blood flowing.”

PRACTICE TIME
Today the U.S. National Under-18 Team took part in an hour practice in preparation for tomorrow’s exhibition game vs Finland. Puck drop is slated for 6:30 p.m. local time in Heinola. “We had a great hour skate today with good pace and jump and are looking forward to our exhibition against the Finns tomorrow,” said U.S. National Under-18 Team head coach John Wroblewski (Neenah, Wis.). “It is a great precursor for what we are going to see in the tournament. The Fins always have a creative team and it will be a true test.”

CAPTAINS NAMED
Jack Hughes (Orlando, Fla.) is the U.S. National Under-18 Team captain, with assistant captains Matt Boldy (Millis, Mass.), Cole Caufield (Stevens Point, Wis.), Alex Turcotte (Island Lake, Ill.) and Marshall Warren (Laurel Hollow, N.Y.).