U.S. general manager Jim Johannson finalized the roster for the 2015 U.S. National Junior Team on Thursday by releasing defenseman Steven Santini.

A current member of the Boston College men's ice hockey team and also a member of the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team, Santini has not played since Oct. 25 due to a wrist injury. He had the cast removed from his wrist on Monday (Dec. 22).

"We wanted to see where Steve was after he had the cast removed and it's clear he needs more time before he's ready to play," said Johannson. The final U.S. roster includes three goaltenders, seven defensemen and 13 forwards.

Forward Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass./Boston University) is the captain of the 2015 U.S. National Junior Team, with defenseman Will Butcher (Sun Prairie, Wis./University of Denver) and forward John Hayden (Greenwich, Conn./Yale University) serving as alternate captains.

Team USA will begin play in the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship Friday (Dec. 26) against Finland at 3 p.m. ET. The game can be seen live on the NHL Network U.S. and will be streamed live in the United States at NHL.com.

For a full roster, click here.